Allegations of threatening behaviour bring into question the
operations of external promoters on University grounds
Gareth Ludkin
News Editor
Allegations of threatening behaviour from Rough Hill promotional
staff grew last week, as ‘Freshers’
Fortnight’ drew to a close.
An incident on the Union steps has
brought into question the operations
of external promotional companies on
University grounds.
With a number of private promotional companies advertising their
nights alongside Union events staff,
competition for the attention of
around 5,000 new students has been
understandably fierce.
This high level of competition
resulted in evident tension between
promotions companies during Freshers’, with members of various teams
taking down other posters, shouting
and engaging in what appeared to be
semi-friendly rivalry on University
residencies.
Charlie Ricketts, head of the Talybont Welcome Crew, stated that during the week: “When all our ‘ents’
people were up at Talybont, there
were people taking each other’s posters down and giving each other chat,
getting Freshers to shout at other promotional teams.”
Members of Rough Hill, the promotions company who promote
events at Tiger Tiger, were reported to
have been particularly aggressive, at
one point even threatening a member
of Welcome Crew outside the Union.
Talybont also saw what was described as a ‘small army’ of promot-

ers on Talybont grounds, despite being told that they were not allowed to
promote there. Numbers did dwindle
over the week after members of both
Rough Hill and Climax Promotions
were asked to leave the Talybont
grounds.
An eyewitness to the incident on the
Union steps stated that a member of
Rough Hill staff had raised his voice
in a threatening tone toward a member
of Welcome Crew. Questioning why
Welcome Crew had been swapping
sweets for Rough Hill flyers, the male
Rough Hill worker said: “I hope you
realise you're ruining their Freshers'
week. I'm going to have them banned
from every Rough Hill event.”
His threatening manner caused the
Union Welcome Crew some concern,
leading them to place more confident people outside of the building.
Rough Hill reacted by moving two female members
away from the area, while
two male staff maintained
a presence near Welcome
Crew, directly outside the
front of the Union.
Dan Jefferys, Rough Hill City
Manager, denies this version
of events, suggesting that the person
in question had
simply asked
Welcome
Crew not to
destroy their
flyers and
that he had
apologised

for threatening to ban from future Rough Hill events. This
apology, however, has not been
confirmed.
“We are not a threatening
promotions team, we are a really
friendly bunch,” said Dan.
“I think a lot of the problems are
to do with promotional rivalry.”
Dan stressed that the Rough
Hill team were strictly interviewed
and guided on how to promote responsibly. “The Rough Hill team is
briefed on how they should act and
how they shouldn’t act,” he said.
Dan did accept that the incident had happened, but commented that the Union were
“acting immorally towards
fellow students [by] basically bribing students
with sweets to hand
over any Rough
Hill flyers that came
their way.”
continued on
page 2

Government accused of "hyperbole" as flaws are
found in report on schools and university subjects
Katie Prescott
Reporter
The Higher Education Statistics
Agency (HESA) have released
fresh figures about the numbers
taking science subjects at university, but have faced criticism over
their research methods.
At first glance the HESA report
suggests that science subjects are
thriving at university level.
Despite a slowdown in recent
years, the number of students enrolled
on Science, Technology, Engineering
and Maths (STEM) courses has grown
from 379,000 to 515,000 in just over
a decade.
Percentage-wise, STEM subjects
have risen from 38% of all undergraduate choices in 1997 to 42% in 2008.
Yet think tank The Policy Exchange
(PE) claims that on closer examination of the traditional STEM subjects
only a handful have seen any substantial change in popularity.
Medicine and Dentistry have undoubtedly seen substantial rises,
but the number enrolled in Biology,
Chemistry and Physics has barely

changed in this period, according to
the PE report.
Biology had 18,081 students in
1997 and only 18,405 in 2008, whereas Physics had 9,990 students in 1997
and 10,145 in 2008.
The reports proceeds to claim that
the number studying Chemistry has
in fact fallen during the same period–
from 13,923 to 12,515. Meanwhile,
Engineering and Technology subjects
have dropped from 90,930 in 1997 to
80,425 in 2008.
PE claims that the inconsistency in
findings stems from a "clever manipulation of data" by the government and
the growth of new subjects.
PE criticized the government for
not taking into consideration that what
classifies as science has broadened
substantially since the original statistics were gathered.
The report criticizes the government for classing subjects such as Geography Studies, Sport Science and
Nursing as sciences, when students on
some of the courses don't even require
a GSCE or A-level in science.
In 2002-2003, the government
reclassified a significant number of
subjects were reclassified as science,

An exact science?
which accounts for the significant increase in science enrolment numbers
at the time.
The think tank concluded by ac-

Promotions controversy
continued from front page
Critical of the Union’s “unscrupulous actions”, Dan was frustrated by
the way that Rough Hill were being
portrayed, saying: “We’ve been painted as the bad guys.”
A member of Union staff said they
were disappointed by the nastiness that
had taken place between promo teams
during Freshers’ fortnight, although
this incident was one in isolation.
The activity of external promotional companies in Talybont was also
noted.
The University’s position on the
promotion of nightclub events in
residences has been addressed by a
University spokesperson, who stated:
“The University does not permit promoters for any nightclub events to
operate in its residential buildings.
Whenever such activities come to the
attention of Campus Services staff,
the promoters are asked to stop, and
if they are not members of the University, to leave the premises.”
Members of Rough Hill and Climax
Promotions were asked to leave the
premises on this basis, and their actions were monitored around campus.
But the mistrust among the Union and
external promotional teams created an
antagonistic atmosphere on site.

The amount of flyering by companies such as Climax and Rough Hill
demonstrated how freely they were
allowed to promote.
Rough Hill employ first years as
hall reps specifically to promote their
nights, which means they can get
round the University’s restrictions on
external promoters.
Frustration was also felt by the
Union due to the fact that external
promoters seemed to be given favour
by residences.
In the Freshers’ ‘hall packs’, Rough
Hill had been able to put in promo
CDs, clearly breaching the University’s policy on external promoters.
This frustrated the Students’ Union
further, as the University had been
reluctant to let them promote on residences. ‘Bounce’ wall planners were
also being handed out to students as
they collected their keys.
Ed Carey, Students’ Union President, said: “All the money spent in the
Union goes back to the students, we
are a branch of the University, so we
have more of a right to be on site than
external companies.”
Union events staff found that they
were restricted from talking to Freshers in Talybont and were often made
to feel unwelcome.
Keen to promote the benefits of the

services provided, the Union wants
students to see that it is not for profit,
and that all the money comes back to
them.
Ed continued: “We want students
to feel that they can go wherever they
want, but to come back to the Union
as their home. Everything goes back
in their hands.”
Dan Jefferys said that he didn’t see
why there should be conflict between
Rough Hill and the Union when their
nights do not clash. He believes that
it is unfair that Rough Hill should be
restricted from promoting to its client base, commenting that everyone
who works for Rough Hill is part of
the University and is simply working
to improve their CV and earn a bit of
extra cash.
“There’s no corruption, there’s no
illegal activities,” he said.
Both versions of events reflect badly on Cardiff University. The actions
of all promotional teams are central
to the impression students take away
from the University, particularly in
their first few weeks, and fair and considerate promotion for all is an important part of this. In future years, strict
rules for promotional companies need
to be imposed and stuck to, stipulating
exactly what promotional companies
can and cannot do.

cusing the government of "hyperbole"
and of "deliberately trying to make
things better than they are."

Debt
delusion
Nathan Allen
Reporter
Ill-informed parents are underestimating their child’s university education costs by £15,000, a new
poll suggests.
Abbey commissioned the research
into debts of UK students and found
that 64% of parents believe their
graduate offspring will have debts of
a mere £5,000, when it’s likely to be
nearer £20,000.
The survey also says that parents
are pretty clued up on financial matters, especially interest rates, and that
they trust their children to “budget
effectively” when they’ve flown the
nest.
Another Abbey poll of 16-18 year
olds says three-quarters want more
money management advice.
The research also highlights that
35% of parents are going to pay off
their child’s debt; and those parents
are underestimating collectively by
£10bn.
John Thorpe of Abbey said “It’s
no surprise that the two groups have
different views and we are calling for
families to sit down and use their own
knowledge and ability to work out
how to finance further education most
effectively.”

Proposals to end
'irrelevant' research
at universities
Alex Evans
Reporter

Changes to government funding
guidelines are set to force academics to prove that their research is
relevant to the real-world.
The government is to assess research proposals based on their influence on the economy, public policy or
wider society in an effort to weed out
'pointless' studies which waste funding.
The plans are outlined as part of
a new framework known as the Research Excellence Framework (REF),
which will hand out up to £1.76billion
in funding every year.
The changes will be compulsory
for English institutions, although it
seems likely that Welsh and Northern
Irish funding boards will follow suit,
according to the proposals.
The concern among academics is
that speculative 'blue skies' research
will no longer be pursued. This would
be a particularly devastating blow for
humanities and social studies departments who rely on this type of research more than the 'traditional' sciences such as physics and biology.
From 2012, each university department's research proposals will be as-

sessed on the evidence they provide
to a panel of academics, with 60%
of marks awarded for the quality of
their research, 25% given for the impact it makes on key areas, such as the
economy, and 15% for the quality of
the department. This will gauge a department's research strategy, staff and
postgraduate development as well as
their “engagement with the public”.
David Sweeney, the director of research at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) responsible for the proposals defended
the plans: 'The REF will recognise
and reward excellent research and
the sharing of new knowledge for the
benefit of the economy and society.”
“It will also ensure the effective
allocation of public funds. It will encourage the productive interchange
of research staff and ideas between
higher education and business, Government and other sectors.”
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the
University and College Union, criticised the plans: “Academic research
should never be at the behest of market forces. History has taught us that
some of the biggest breakthroughs
have come from speculative research
and it is wrong to try and measure
projects purely on their economic potential”.

Open invitation
Jamie Thunder
News Editor
Students in Cardiff who left their
doors unlocked last week received
some surprise visitors as part of
an initiative to prevent burglaries
in the area.
Cardiff Students’ Union Welcome
Crew and South Wales Police tested
front doors in Cathays and Roath
from 1-5pm between Wednesday and
Friday.
If they were unlocked the residents
were warned about the risks of ‘walkin’ or ‘creeper’ burglaries, when a thief
gains access through an open door.
They were also given an information
pack about protecting property.
In almost all cases when the door
hadn’t been locked there were people
in the house. However, at least one
house had been left unlocked even
though there was no-one home.
Other houses had unlocked doors
with keys still in the door, which
would allow burglars to either just
walk in or to take the keys and return
later, regardless of whether the door
had been locked in the meantime.
In a three-hour period on Wednesday the teams found more than thirty
unlocked front doors, including nine
on a single street.
Daniella Graham, a member of
the Welcome Crew who helped with

the exercise, said: “A lot of people
thought it was okay to leave their door
unlocked because they were in the
house, but they didn’t always realise
when we’d walked in past valuable
items like laptops.
“If we could just walk in then anyone could, no matter what their intentions.”
Ed Dolding, Cardiff Students’
Union Welfare, Campaigns, and Communications Officer said: “Cardiff is
a tremendously safe city for students,
but every year there is a spate of student burglaries, particularly during
and just after the Freshers’ period.
“As many as 40% of these crimes
occur without the criminal having to
try and break into the property. Students need to make sure they lock
their doors and windows whenever
possible.”
Around one in three students are
expected to be victims of crime annually, although this figure is only one
in 30 for Cardiff. Locking doors helps
protect property and keep you safe.
It is believed that the recent rape of a
student at the University of Glamorgan was in part due to a door being
left unlocked.
Students are also advised not to
leave boxes and packaging from expensive items outside the house, as
these alert people to what is available
inside the house.

PCSO Dave Marvelley

NEWS 05

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

It's mind
over matter

Universities face difficulty
after surge in applicants
George Carpenter
Reporter

Both universities and students
could face serious financial problems following the 10% surge in
university applicants this year, as
the government will be unable to
cope with the demand.
A cap on the number of students to
be accepted was imposed in England
earlier this year, following the discovery of a £200m black hole in university financing.
However, universities continued to
accept the flood of students – thought
to be 22,000 over the limit – in violation of government advice.
Now vice chancellors may face
millions in fines, putting a strain on
the already tight budgets universities
must deal with following the reces-

Matthew Price gets his legs waxed

Gareth Ludkin
News Editor

Cardiff University’s Psychology
Society have organized their first
charity event of the year. Held in
the Union foyer, Co-Presidents
Matthew Price and Jason Millar volunteered their legs to be
waxed.
Raising money for the Cardiff
branch of Mind, the UK’s leading
mental health charity, students passing through the Union donated generously, with a small crowd quickly
growing. For the price of £2 anyone
could have the opportunity to rip off a
strip for themselves.
‘Tans and Hans’ provided the ex-

pertise to make the experience as pain
free as possible, but as the participants’ legs rapidly became hair free
the pain was clearly evident.
Jason Millar wasn’t particularly
apprehensive before the event and
commented, “I think I can handle it.”
Matthew Price on the other hand was
more nervous about the smooth legs
to come, “I’m not excited to be bald
from the waist down,” he said.
The event, which rose in excess of
£190, was the first of many planned
by the Psych Soc committee. Looking
to be much more proactive this year,
particularly with their charity fundraising, the society has a new energy
it hopes will roll into a many more
successful events, raising plenty more
money for charity.

Love film NO2ID
Jamie Thunder
News Editor

Jamie Thunder
News Editor

Cardiff University Film Society is
to expand its production arm this
year, creating a feature-length
film made up of short segments
about the city.
Under the name Diff Films, the
society hopes to enter the finished
piece to film festivals and events.
Actors, writers, and directors are
wanted for the project, as well as
people to shoot and edit the pieces.
The Film Society will provide the
equipment.
Individual segments can be between two and five minutes long
and can be submitted to Cardiff Student Media Awards at the end of the
year.

South Wales Police have urged
students not to carry their passports with them on a night out.
Over 800 passports were reported
lost or stolen in Cardiff last year, and
only 200 were recovered.
Even if a lost passport is later recovered it can’t be returned to the
owner. The cost of a new one is nearly
£80.
Most of the complainants were
people using their passports as proof
of age to get into clubs.
PC Bob Keohane said: “There is
always the chance that a passport can
be used for identity theft. Students
should not carry their passports.”

sion.
Students themselves will also suffer. Those studying in Wales will bear
the burden of financial cost of this
year’s oversubscription.
Speaking for the Higher Education
Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW),
Emma Raczka warned that: “[T]he
recruitment of additional full-time
students can trigger extra public costs
for their tuition fees and maintenance
grants. Therefore, higher education institutions have agreed to act prudently
when recruiting additional students so
that there is no extra pressure on the
Welsh Assembly Government's student support budget.
"[However] institutions can, within
reason, choose to recruit additional
students on a 'fees only' basis, where
the student pays the fees, but no additional funding is available for that
place from HEFCW.”
The full extent of the fines im-

posed on universities is not likely to
be known until December 1 this year,
when the number of applicants will be
counted.

06 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

You'll never
guess what...

'Hitler' skull was a woman's

Oompah
roompah

Claim suggests dictator didn't die in Berlin bunker
Tim Hart
Reporter

Around 120 Chinese dwarfs have
set up their own community to
avoid the frequent discrimination
and prejudice they receive.
They have settled in the mountain
commune of Kunming, Southern
China and have even founded a set
of rules which states that no person
over the height of 4ft 3ins shall be
welcomed into the community.
Like a normal-sized community,
they have their own police force and
fire brigade enabling them to cope
with all their little needs.
They have, however, failed to fully break away from their stereotypes,
dressing up as fictional fairyland
characters and building mushroom
houses to attract tourists.

Moving
goalposts

The skull long thought to be Adolf
Hitler’s actually belonged to a
woman, according to an American scientist who has taken DNA
samples from the skull.
Soviet forces took the skull in 1945
when they found charred remains
outside the Nazi dictator's bunker in
Berlin.
The Russians said at the time that
the findings backed claims that Hitler
had shot himself on April 30, 1945,
and then been cremated along with
his wife, Eva Braun.
Now, however, archaeologist and
bone specialist Nick Bellantoni says
the skull really belonged to a woman
aged under 40 and not Hitler - who
was 56 when he died.
Neither does Mr Bellantoni believe
the skull belongs to Braun, Hitler's
long-time girlfriend and last-minute
wife, who is thought to have killed
herself by taking cyanide and would

therefore not have had a bullet wound
- as this skull has.
Some historians have believed for
years that the Nazi dictator did not die
in Berlin.
"There is no forensic evidence
whatsoever that Hitler died in the
bunker," said historian and journalist
Gerrard William.
"The Nazi high command had been
making plans since 1943 to get out of
Germany and to set up a Fourth Reich
mainly in South America so they had
no need to die in situ in Germany.
"There was a very effective route
out of Germany to South America and
the Nazis had help from various factions, in particular a Croatian cardinal
from the Vatican called Alois Hudel."
One reason why there was such a
belief at the end of World War II that
the skull was Hitler's, Mr Williams
suggests, is that everyone needed Hitler to be dead.
"Everyone wanted to close the
chapter very quickly because, of
course, the Cold War was just starting
up. It was convenient, that's all."

SKULLDUGGERY: Was this really Hitler's?

Knock knocked up
Man
boobs
the

A Danish goalkeeper is in hot water after being caught moving the
goalposts in a Swedish league
clash between IFK Gothenburg
and Orebro.
Kim Christensen, of IFK Gothenburg, admitted to this bizarre act of
cheating after being caught live on
camera kicking the flimsy goal posts
closer together. He has since confessed to doing it “from time to time”
and received this top tip from a goalkeeping friend a few years previous.
IFK Gothenburg currently hold
second place in the Swedish League
trailing AIK by three points.

Big baby
A 41-year old woman in Indonesia has given birth to a 19lb baby
boy.
It's not quite the world-record,
which is currently 23lb, but an astonishing feat nevertheless.
The father of the child, Muhammad
Hasanuddin, is happy that the birth via
cesarean occurred without complication, his only worry now is whether
he can afford to feed the larger than
average child.
The doctor who delivered the child
told reporters: “He's got a strong appetite, every minute, it's almost nonstop feeding.”

Tim Hart
Reporter

GOT MILK?: Swedish man hopes to proves he's the mummy

Tim Hart
Reporter
A Swedish father has begun an
experiment that could help him
produce milk.
Ragnar Bengtsson, aged 26, began
stimulating his breasts with a pump in
a bid to produce milk.
Bengtsson will pump his breasts at
three-hour intervals every day until
the beginning of December. As a full
time economics student at Stockholm
University, he is not always going to
be in a position to pump in private.
His efforts are being documented
by Swedish TV8 on the Aschberg
show. Bengtsson also maintains a
blog on the station's website, the title
of which translates as: 'The Milkman
- One Drop at a Time'.
"I'm going to have to pull out the
pump during lectures. But really it

doesn't bother me if it makes people
uncomfortable. If they have issues
with it that's their problem," he said.
Male lactation is a relatively common side effect of hormone treatments, but Bengtsson has no plans to
chemically induce the process.
"If it works and the milk turns
out to have a high nutritional value
it could be a real breakthrough," he
said.
Bengtsson has a two-year-old son
who is in no way involved in the
experiment, but the Stockholm dad
doesn't rule out breastfeeding any future kids.
"There have been a lot of strong reactions. Some people think it's completely sick," he said.
Sigbritt Werner, professor of endocrinology at Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm, said it could be possible
for Bengtsson to produce "a drop or
two" after three or four months.

A US woman has stunned doctors
by falling pregnant while pregnant.
Julia Grovenburg and her husband
Todd were staggered to learn she
would be giving birth to two babies,
but not twins.
The couple attended an ultrasound
appointment believing Mrs Grovenburg was just over eight weeks pregnant.
But the scan showed two babies,
separated by two-and-a-half weeks with one clearly more developed than
the other.
"[When] she said, 'and baby number two has got a healthy little heartbeat,' - I just started gagging," Mrs
Grovenburg.

"[We were] both in shock," her husband added.
Doctors suspect an extraordinarily
uncommon situation called superfetation, which means conceiving when
already pregnant. There’s only one
case a year reported worldwide.
"It's a rare thing because when you
conceive, your hormones change dramatically," he said.
"Those changes stop you ovulating
and they stop you conceiving."
Tests will be performed when the
babies are born to ascertain what happened.
If the family's situation was not
astounding enough, the babies are officially due in different years - at the
end of 2009 and start of 2010.
However, the pair - already named
as Jillian and Hudson - are expected to
be born together, either naturally or by
caesarean section, in December.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Julia Grovenburg, who is pregnant twice

NEWS 07

08 OPINION

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

freewords
EDITORIAL

Est. 1972

Turf war
This edition brings you the latest
on the petty promotions row between the Union staff and external promoters Rough Hill, Climax
Promotions and Student Cardiff
(the latter two owned by ex-Cardiff student Sam Gould).
I hope you enjoy reading about
what actually happened now we've
finally put it into print, and that the
whole issue can now be laid to rest.
(Although it probably won't be because a member of Rough Hill has
threatened to sue us for something or
other. Oo er). I'll probably even get in
trouble for writing this! We'd better
watch our backs.
Big news broke yesterday - which
meant a last minute change for our
Politics section (sorry Damian!) lovely Rhodri Morgan has decided
to step down after ten years as Wales'
First Minister. Now the race is on to
see who will replace him. (I hope it's
someone nice - they could make some
big decisions affecting me and you
over the next few years!)
I don't know about you, but I'm also
very excited that we have an interview
with none other than the God that is
David Beckham gracing our pages
this week - all thanks to postgraduate journalism student James Davies.
Very...very... jealous.
Speaking of sport, I'd also like to
draw your attention to the new and
improved section, courtesy of gair
rhydd's Sport Editors. We've still got
the regulars: match reports, The Word
On... and soon to come, all the IMG
and BUCS latest. But you'll notice
Sport Comment has been replaced
with The Warm Up - a preview of upcoming sporting events, so you can
read about them before they happen,
rather than after, when you've probably already read about them on the
BBC News website.
Finally, congratulations to the
Union on the success of their newly
branded Wednesday night. The Lash
sold out well in advance for its Beach
Party hosted by Greg James last week,
which became apparent when I rocked
up and the queue was halfway down
the steps.
If I'm honest, Greg did little more
than shot encouraging remarks such
as 'Put your hands up!' over the mic,
but the music was cheesy, the atmosphere was sweaty and the floor was
sticky... After a couple of years of suffering an identity crisis, it looks like
Wednesday nights are back to their
good old selves.

Corrections
Apologies to Daniel Laxton, the
Swimming and Water Polo player,
who was featured on last week's back
page as Daniel Luxton.

Apologies also to Morgan Bailey, who
was not given a byline for the story
she wrote in Issue 901 on the University Rowing Club's perfomrance at

the Henley Regatta.

The award-winning rapist
Since filmmaker Roman Polanski was arrested last week for raping a 13
year old 32 years ago, many in the film industry have come out in his
defence. But winning Oscars does not make you exempt from the law
Sam Eddy
Opinion Writer
Despite making headlines across
the world last week, Roman Polanski (above) is not a man with
whom many people are familiar.
Most couldn’t name more than a
couple of his films aside from 'The
Pianist' without consulting IMDB.
Perhaps if it had been a national
hero who was just arrested in Switzerland, I would be joining the likes of
Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese in
singing his praises. But I don’t think
so. A rapist, no matter how celebrated,
is still a rapist.
In 1977, Polanski had sex with a
thirteen year old girl named Samantha Geimer (right). Celebrities being
found innocent of crimes they are
widely believed to have committed is
nothing new, but what makes the outpouring of support for Roman Polanski in certain circles so baffling is that
he actually admitted to his crime.
He even had the audacity to try to
claim that Geimer consented, an explanation contradicted by the victim’s
version of events (the part of the legal transcript where she begs: “No,
no. I don't want to go in there. No, I
don't want to do this. No!” springs to
mind).

Polanski was born in Paris and is
a French citizen, and fled to France
in 1978 rather than facing a potential
half century stay in jail. France can
refuse to extradite citizens to the US,
which, of course, in the case of a talented director, they did. Finally, justice caught up with Polanski when he
was arrested by Swiss police while en
route to the Zürich film festival.

Should talented
and famous
individuals be
exempt from the
law?
However, that it is justice that has
finally caught up with Polanski seems
to have eluded many in France. Frédéric Mitterrand, the culture minister,
claimed Polanski’s detention was a
“new ordeal being inflicted on someone who has already experienced
so many of them.” Polanski, who is
of Polish descent, lost his mother to
Auschwitz and his wife the Manson
‘Family’, and it would take a cold
heart to claim this isn’t more than
enough hardship for one man to endure.
However, to argue that this excuses
such a terrible crime is absurd. Trace
the tragic family history of Baby P

back even so far as his mother’s childhood, and you’ll see that abuse begets
abuse, but, as the mother’s detention
testifies, certainly does not excuse it.
Critics have argued that detaining Polanski on the way to a festival
where he was due to collect an
award was a measured act of spite
against the director, an argument
which is akin to claiming that
someone shouldn’t be arrested on
their birthday because it’s mean.
A more convincing defence is that
Polanski’s arrest was an attempt
by Switzerland to improve ties with
the US after the latter b r a n d e d
it a Tax Haven.
This suggestion
may have some
truth, but fails
to explain why
countries with
existing (relatively) warm relationships with
America - the UK
and Israel for example - had already
made failed attempts to
capture him. And even if
it was a political gambit,
surely if the outcome is
a convicted criminal facing justice it’s still a good
thing?
Ultimately, the Po-

lanski arrest debacle seems to come
down to the same tired question;
should talented and famous individuals be exempt from the law? The answer is of course, no. Celebrities, particularly
those like Polanski
who are actually
imbued with considerable talent,
are role models
for the adoring
societies that
ultimately create
(and can indeed
destroy) them.
What does it
say when your
role
model
flouts the law
and gets away
with it? Celebrity court cases
are the ones that
the world watches
and that cement international opinions
on a country’s legal
integrity. If anything,
celebrity offenders
such as Polanski
should be more susceptible, not less.

OPINION 09

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

The tale of the leering lecturer
When Terence Kealey claimed pretty students are 'perks of the job' he attracted
nationwide criticism. But is he not simply saying what everyone else is thinking?
Hannah Carr
Opinion Writer

and the original article has attracted
over 180 comments, with one critic
labelling herself “unimpressed undergraduette”, another “astounded”.

Female university students are
creatures “which you should admire daily to spice up your sex,
nightly, with the wife.” These immortal words were uttered by Dr
Terence Kealey, Vice Chancellor
at the University of Buckingham,
rather than a middle-aged male
lurking in the corner of the pub.
Unsurprisingly, Kealey’s outspokenness in a recent article in the
Times Higher Education supplement has provoked controversy
and calls for his resignation.
Feminists, students and journalists
have all jumped aboard the condemnatory bandwagon. The National Union
of Students has criticised his message,

Ignore the
depressing
headlines, and
get on with
student life
It has been argued that someone
in his position should be beyond reproach. But why? Persons of intellectual standing should have no less right
to express their opinion than anyone
else. He’s trying to appear more plebeian, don’t you know.
Thankfully others have taken a

more reasoned approach and assessed
the article in the humorous light in
which it was intended to be viewed.
Yes, Kealey’s article portrays women
as sex objects. But we are all sex objects as human beings with the ability to reproduce. However, he does
not view them as sex objects alone. If
he did he wouldn’t express a problem
with acting on these sexual urges.
Kealey’s comments were clearly
intended to be a light-hearted take
on academia’s seven deadly sins. His
opinion on lust was always going to
be more controversial than the other
six academic attributes- namely procrastination, snobbery, arrogance,
sartorial inelegance, complacency and
pedantry. It is difficult to see how he
could have written a controversy- free
piece on this topic, and if he had it
probably wouldn’t have made good
copy.

If his critics read a bit more closely
they would realise that Kealey isn’t a
misogynistic, aging sexual predator.

Kealey's article
should be seen for
what it is; a
forgivable faux pas
He is by no means condoning sordid professor-students liaisons, merely arguing that academics can look
but not touch, something which we all
admittedly do, although not quite so
vocally. Perhaps this is the problem,
Kealey is speaking the unspeakable,
the taboo topic of an academic’s interest in their students extending beyond
the academic, into more questionable
territory. We all know that this hap-

pens, but it’s simply an inconvenient
truth, spoken in broken whispers that
stick stubbornly in the throat.
The problem arises when an academic acts on these urges, and Kealey
rightly argues that academics should,
“enjoy the views- and only the views.”
We can not condemn thoughts alone,
however inappropriate they may be.
Even if you don’t agree with his methods – which many clearly don’t – his
words have served to provoke debate,
which can never be a bad thing. Indeed, both his right to free speech and
others’ right to express their opinions
on this are a marker of a free, democratic society. Kealey’s article should
be seen for what it is: a forgivable
faux pas. Whether his wife agrees is
another matter.

From law maker to law breaker
By hiring an illegal immigrant, Attorney General Baroness Scotland
broke the law. As one of the country's law makers, she must resign
Nathan Allen
Opinion Writer
Baroness Scotland, the Labour
peer and attorney general, should
without a doubt resign. Knowing
you’ve employed an illegal immigrant is one thing, but being the
attorney general at the time is
quite another. It may seem trivial
but it could be very damaging to
her career if she doesn’t stand
down.
The crime was that the Baroness
hired an illegal immigrant from Tonga,
who acted as her housekeeper in London, called Loloahi Tapui. Miss Tapui
knew she wasn’t allowed to work in
the UK but still got the job; she told
the Mail on Sunday that she had no
documents and that Lady Scotland
didn’t ask to see any. She was given
the job after a ten minute interview.

She commited a
criminal act and is
thus a criminal.
The Baroness paid the £5,000
fine (peanuts, I’m sure) with the full
backing of PM Brown, who reckons
that she acted in “good faith”. Yet
other ministers have called for her
resignation with one “senior cabinet
member” saying “Her position is untenable. She's toast", according to the
Daily Telegraph.
The fact of the matter is that Baroness Scotland is the senior law officer
for England and Wales and she broke

the law. One of her own laws, in fact
– it was her that pushed through the
governing legislation (Immigration,
Asylum and Nationality Act, 2006)
Okay, she paid the fine but the lasting
damage can’t be just be repaid with a
cheque. Although at least there’s less
worry of that cheque bouncing now
the banks are on a road to recovery.
It’s a trust issue. If she cannot stand
true to her own ruling, then who’s
to say she’ll adhere to the rest? She
committed a criminal act and is thus
a criminal, and without wishing to
speak out of turn, criminals aren’t renowned for their reputations – not the
good ones at least.
And hers is severely damaged. Her
critics come from all over the Commons- LibDem Chris Huhne said
"Law makers should not be law breakers, and this applies even more to
Baroness Scotland due to her special
position as chief law officer. Her position now looks untenable." And Tory
David Davis tells that after ministers
break the law; their dismissal should
be “automatic”.
To be fair though, it is quite a funny
old case. The law maker becomes the
law breaker and one could argue that
it throws the system into disrepute?
Maybe that makes those little chav
kids stealing from the generic corner
shop model citizens and the student finance blunders of late nothing to worry about. Perhaps even those rogue
landlords that gair rhydd led with last
week should be let off the hook.
But in reality, this is embarrassing,
the attorney general wasn’t unaware.
The official line from the Baroness
was “I did check absolutely everything. The critical thing is, having

checked, each employer is asked to
take photocopies, I didn't take photocopies. I absolutely believed she
was bona fide.” The only document
that actually exists (as in proven, not
just said to exist) was a forged passport which contained an expired visa,
which was found when Miss Tapui’s
home was raided and then seized.

Miss Tapui has been in Britain since
her student visa expired five years
ago and told the Mail that "I do not
understand why [Baroness Scotland]
said that she saw my passport because
I know I'm illegal… Why [would] I
provide my passport because I know
[that if I did] I would not get employed by her."

In the interview, which was set up
by publicist extraordinaire Max Clifford, also has Tapui claiming that she
has no intention of leaving the UK and
returning to Tonga.
And you can’t help but smirk a little
at the Baroness’ failing here. Happiness at the misfortune of others, that’s
schadenfreude.

BARONESS SCOTLAND: Hands up if you employ illegal immigrants

04 NEWS

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2009

COLUMNIST 11

gairrhydd | OPINION@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

e
b
o
T
.
.
.
.
K
N
A
FR

It's not Gordon or David that's
the problem: it's all of us
A

massive event this week potentially changed the future
of Britain, perhaps even the
Western World. The best selling
print newspaper in the UK, (not to
mention a pillar of intellectualism
if I ever saw one) The Sun, after
12 years has turned its back on
the Labour government and officially supported the Conservative
Party in the next election.
I shouldn’t need to explain the huge
power that media can exert over a
populace, particularly when it comes
to political thinking. Even in this modern age of ever evolving, all consuming electronic media, the simple fact is
that headlines influence elections. The
written word has an inunderestimatable power to influence – particularly
a paper like The Sun, whose readership…how can I say this tentatively…
perhaps is less likely to be exposed to
political forums that aren’t expressed
in a caption alongside naked breasts.
And so, it seems, dangerously, the
bandwagon has set off. Or should I
say the careering freight train that is
the Conservatives’ likely victory is
now belting full steam towards the
pathetic, helpless figure of Gordon
Brown, tied to the tracks with his own
ineptitude.

Being British is
shit, isn't it? And
the Sudanese
think they have it
rough
Unfortunately, if the Conservatives
get into power, I’d have to employ
a similarly hyperbolic metaphor for
the fate of the whole damn country.
And yes, yes I know Labour are terrible at the moment. Don’t look at me
like that. Just bear with me for a little
while.
You might have noticed I used that
tired old cliché ‘jumping on the bandwagon’. I know, it’s terrible writing,
but it’s done for a point. You see, that
very phenomenon is to blame for the
horrific state that our nation now finds
itself in. It is an insidious blight that
infects everyone, even you and me.
It is this blind following of popular
cynicism that has put this country in

the state that it is right
now. The problem is so
ingrained, that it could
even be seen as a characteristic of our very
Britishness.
What are our broadest characteristics, as
a nation? Besides our
desperately tedious tendency to discuss meteorological minutiae and
think that it counts for
good conversation (it
doesn’t). Well, surely it
must be the great British
wit, our dry cynicism
and fabulously droll
sense of ennui. Why
you only have to watch any evening
BBC comedy to know that the only
time we seem to be happy is when we
are commenting on just how miserably shit everything is. But hey, when
you do, everyone will agree with you
- after all, being British is shit isn’t it?
To think those cheeky Sudanese think
they have it rough.
Travelling this summer, it really
started to hit home how pathetically
clichéd our state of mind as a nation
has become. Even in the US, a country
which we delight in mocking, a postmodern political revolution took place
this year with the ousting of the Republican regime and the inauguration
of President Obama.
Here, our political landscape is
so stagnant and apathetic that I will
be surprised if anyone gives a toss
enough to vote next year.
This is down to a simple fact – that
there is no such thing as British politics any more. Both the Labour party
and the Conservatives,and even recently the Lib Dems, are all increasingly the same. They are just as bad
as each other. Why? Simple: because
all their policies are based on pandering to popular opinion. Now that’s just
politics, right? Wrong. And the reason
is this – popular opinion is wrong.
Let me bring it back to the bandwagon thing, because like I said, I had
a point. And the point is this. We have
descended into this utterly ridiculous
position in which the government is
letting a public that has no idea about
things dictate key policies. In his
deathly boresome Labour conference
speech, Gordon Brown vociferously

NIC
HMS TITA

Come on lads! If the Sun says it, it must be right...
attacked bankers’ bonuses – a move
that is both pandering to the press,
and, to be frank, utterly stupid. This
strange vilification of the top levels
of our financial institutions goes utterly against common sense. Now, in
our time of greatest crisis, is when
we need the world’s greatest financial minds helping to steer us out of
this economic crisis and maintain our
international competitiveness. To put
a limit on monetary stimuli (something which goes completely against
themarket principles that Gordie has
championed for the last decade) will
simply mean that the best people fuck
off abroad where they can get paid,
and we will be left squandering our
worthless sterling in the doldrums.

The only time
David Cameron
takes his head out
of his arse is when
it's stuffed full of
his cycle seat
You know it is time for a change of
government when the party in power
is going against its own word in order
to cling to some semblance of voter
support. That said, David Cameron is
no better – the only time that pompous moron takes his head out of his
arse is when it’s stuffed full of his
cycle seat as he preens pretentiously
around parliament. The Conservative's job has been made easy - they

have recognised this popular cynicism
and dictated their vanilla policies accordingly.
The problem isn’t just one political party. It’s everyone. We are all to
blame. I don’t know where this depressing national state of mind has
come from, but it’s here. I mean honestly, do you really think there could
be a British Barack? No. Why the
hell not? Why can’t people start caring and start thinking for themselves,
rather than what the fucking Sun
newspaper tells them? Or any fucking
newspaper for that matter. Yes, we all
know that as things are now, we are all
anally screwed. So when will people
start giving a fuck? Maybe if we all
stopped being so fucking cynical and
were a little cheerier, then we could
start sorting everything out.
I’ll shut up in a second, but first
consider this. Someone in the office
today was showing off the fact that
their mobile has a ‘fake call’ button
that you can use in ‘social emergencies’: i.e. when the person you are
talking to is so boring you want to
leave. How terribly fucking British
that we need someone to provide us
with a polite excuse. Did you know
one of the reasons that so many Brits
died on the Titanic is that we were the
only nation who bothered queuing for
the lifeboats? How fitting a metaphor
that is for our state of mind now – all
politely following each other into
oblivion, everyone following everyone else. Nice weather today though
eh? Fuck off.
Rant over.

'FML?' How
about Fuck
Off...

Don’t be alarmed, but there is a
massive and horrendous schism
rooted deep in the student culture
of Cardiff. Nay, nationwide. This
cultural gap surely rivals that of
the civil rights movement in America and any other that has afflict
the world at the moment. I’m talking, as you should know, about the
division between ‘Rahs’ and the
rest of us ‘normals’.
Everyone knows what you mean
when you say the word ‘Rah’. Characteristics include a penchant for Jack
Wills or Abercrombie trackie bottoms, an all-weather appreciation for
flip flops, a chronic misunderstanding
of how to use hair brushes, maybe.
That, and the insistence on wearing a
woolly beanie, even in the depths of
summer.
Now here is the question – what
the fuck is wrong with that? As a humanities student and ‘media type’,
I am surrounded by those who view
this kind of people with mass derision. Ask people why, and the truth is,
no-one really knows. It’s just the done
thing, to take the piss.
Now this really annoys me. Can
someone explain why it’s so fucking ‘cool’ to be cynical? Particularly
amongst artsy types – you know the
kind, the ones who still think it’s cool
to make every Facebook status an
indie song lyric, or actually use the
phrase “FML”.
“FML?” How about fuck off? For
anyone who doesn’t know, this decidedly jolly acronym apparently stands
for “Fuck My Life”: the new buzz
phrase amongst sarcastic, immature
women. I mean really, honestly tell
me what is so bad about your lucky,
privileged life that compels you to
spout such a miserable phrase? I’ve
honestly seen such things as ‘So and
so has a fucking 9am lecture, FML’.
Even the Iranian protesters being shot
and killed earlier this year, who were
forced to expose the injustice inflicted
upon them through Twitter weren’t
reduced to using such self serving
drivel.
I should think these people spend
their after lecture banter taking the
piss out of Rahs and boasting about
their apathy and cynicism towards
everything in life, before fucking off
down Metros, deriding everyone in
the queue to Oceana on the way.
Now I don’t like getting angry
in this way. I am of the firm belief
that everyone, if you give them the
chance, is just lovely, no matter what
they wear or what their background is.
Discrimination, even against the better off, is still discrimination.

12 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

Keeping it fresh: three ta

Features asks three students to share their experien
the fresher

Lia Martin & Bethan Paterson
Hughes
Features Writers
Freshers' Week is notoriously a
week of solid boozing and idiotic
behaviour.
It’s unsurprising then that our first
night was concluded by crawling back
to Senghennydd Court from Varsity,
singing ‘I’ve got a feeling’ too loudly
and laughing
hysterically at a
group of
men in
N e w

the second year
Laura Beard
Features Writer

The wonders of Freshers'; the
nights out, the random bonding
of strangers and the inhuman
amounts of alcohol.
I drank, I sang, I fell flat on my
arse more times than I care to hazily
remember and I fell into a spiralling
love affair with cheesy chips.
Blurrily reminiscent of events
a year ago, I watched with a smug
knowledge of the messy times to
come, while remaining envious of
the awesome time everyone

would have.
The truth is the messy days are not
far behind me; they are still a part of

Look dresses.
This predictably became the week’s
theme. Club nights and pub nights
were attended, many a Jagerbomb
consumed (a drink not previously discovered) and high heels were removed
from sore feet by 10 o’clock.
People forget, however that along
with all this fun, the first week can
actually be difficult for the Fresher.
Learning multiple freshers' names
proves to be a challenge as is locating buildings for introductory lectures
whilst hung-over.
Forcing our brains to process new
information after a lazy, aimless summer was never going to be easy.
Luckily we had our red, Sharpie
pen to help us remember names but
unfortunately, conflicting directions from several upper
years and staff members
caused us to become even
more lost on the way to
the Biomedical building for an English
lecture.
Then
of
course, most of
us have had to
face the terrible
my student life. Just as drunken, just
as much singing, sadly just as many
times on my arse and just as much
bonding with the new neighbours;
though hopefully first impressions
don’t last that long!
If you ever forget the feeling of that
first day in halls, take a spin round
Tesco Extra and it will send you rocketing back like it were yesterday.
The tight huddles of girls, hanging
on to one another as if their lives depended on those awkward ‘getting to
know one another’ conversations, the
‘hard’ guys, pushing round a trolley
full to the brim of food; the value pack
of pasta and the supersized packet of
toilet roll, whilst their prim and proper
mums fuss about in the embarrassing
way which all mums do; preparing for
every eventuality and natural disaster
in existence.
Finally
you have the
individuals
whose eyebrows
are
a little too
high to be
completely
relaxed with
an ever preppy
smile etched on
their face, frantically searching the faces of
fellow shoppers
for anyone who
may
befriend
them.
Those first days of freshers were
frantic, action packed, messy and com-

ordeal of being ill all week with a
virus commonly known as ‘Freshers'
Flu.’
We ignored solemn second year
warnings, and downed our wine/
Jack Daniels/vodka concoction during ‘Ring of Fire’ without a second's
thought. Our punishment was suffering the Fresher’s ball on Saturday and
staying in bed until our first lectures
this week.

We hoped our new
flatmates weren't
weird or dirty
Alongside all this drinking and partying, we had to move in to our new
homes. This was undoubtedly worrying; fending for ourselves was a scary
prospect. We had no idea what any
of our new flatmates were like, we’d
only seen a few pictures of them on
Facebook and were praying that they
weren’t weird or dirty. Luckily they
weren’t dirty.
We all moved in armed with our
student cookbooks and made friends
pletely knackering. I came very close
to resorting to wearing a sign around
my neck with ‘My name is Laura, I’m
from Cardiff and I’m doing English
Literature’, after about the millionth
person took me through the drill and
then exchanged numbers, in our bid
to try and find those uni friends who
everyone says you will stay in touch
with for the rest of your life.
Although a random meeting of
someone on my way past the social
or to the Talybont shop didn’t lead to
many fast holding relationships, I did
make some amazing friends which all
stem from the bizarrely extreme situations that could only occur in freshers.

It's unavoidable
that someone will
end up in A&E.
Unfortunately it
was my friend
Fire alarms are those wonderfully
awkward moments which unite the
whole house of strangers as one, not
only that but usually it is at an hour
which if we’ve ever seen it, it has
been in a severe state of drunkenness,
so that no one can really remember a
previous five o’clock in the morning.
The gem of those drills was the fact
that if not uncomfortable enough, we
were all standing there in our pyjamas, no make up, with usually a pillow imprint on our face, or better yet

within five minutes.
We also made a drunken effort to
knock on every door within the block
and invite ourselves in. As the week
unfolded, we realised it wasn’t too
bad living in student accommodation.
We will never tire of pasta with pesto
and fry-ups, and, most importantly we
have met some pretty cool people.
We also discovered that some
schools within the university have
more active and strange social events
than others.
On our way to the Union we
bumped into a fellow flatmate (a medic) wearing a pink, neon sock over her
head and a bin liner for an outfit. She
was surrounded by strangely dressed
first year medics, with names such as
‘rancid clot’ drawn on to their faces.
She later told us that she had to endure having beans and other similar
commodities thrown on her and participated in drinking games and human pyramids whilst blindfolded as
part of a ‘medic initiation ceremony.’
Oddly, we were slightly jealous
that English Literature did not provide
such a party. We were content though
with the range of nights the Union had
to offer, a particular highlight being
brilliant bed hair.
The glamorous impressions we
want to make with our housemates
all go out the window when you’re
stood all blurry eyed with mismatched
shoes. Usually you end up next to the
cute guy who seems to be in a similar
dishevelled state, whilst everyone tries
to work out who are their housemates
and which people are just ‘visiting’.
Luckily for my
flat,
although
my cooking skills
were pretty
shocking I
managed to
refrain from
both
setting off the
fire alarm
and burning
our kitchen
down.
As
I
settled into
a
balanced
diet of classic
dishes- spaghetti
hoops, pizza and of course fish finger
sandwiches- I sometimes had brought
in some variation on those mornings
following the craziness of the night
before in which the only solution to
cure my hangover was Subway. Over
this delicacy we would sit and try to
piece together the fragments of our
memory from the night before.
It’s unavoidable that at least one
person will end up in A&E. Unfortunately for my flatmate, she became
this person after having a fight with

the Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip gig
at Solus.
To conclude, Freshers' Week can
be described with a few simple terms:
new people, alcohol, carbohydrates,
painkillers, mayhem and of course a
tinge of homesickness. We look forward to remembering the enjoyable
bits of fresher’s week and forgetting
the embarassing moments.

gravity and losing.
Our floor instantly banded together
in trying to help her, although some
attempts being more successful than
others; one guy insisted he was a doctor despite only being a first year dentist who hadn’t started lectures yet!
I would say the states I got in last
year I learnt from, I matured after and
have now

become a much more dedicated student, vowing even to enter
the library more than twice the whole
year, but the temptations of the amazing nights out with no early morning
lectures to attempt to function for is
too much to resist.
The main difference from last year
is that I look forward to the return of
the friends I made last year, whose
bad influences were accountable for
the many states I got in (well that and
tequila). So enjoy; drink, sing and
try not to fall on your arse too many
times!

FEATURES 13

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

les from Freshers' Week

nces of the most hectic week in the student calendar
the third year
Daniella Graham
Features Editor
When I was actually a Fresher, I
didn’t really enjoy Freshers’ Week.
During the day there was little
else to do besides being bombarded with leaflets, and the evenings
were spent getting drunk and having the same pointless conversation ("What’s your name?" "What
course are you doing?" "What
halls are you in?") over and over
again.
Having fully expected it to be the
best week of my life, if I was being
completely honest I was actually pret-

drunken conversations with people
explain all about our fundraising society. Obviously we were there to have
some fun too, and I dutifully knocked
back several pints and a cocktail over
the course of the evening. On the way
home I bumped into a man playing
Biffy Clyro, with 20 drunk students
acting as back up vocals.
On to Tuesday, with no time to
sleep off the hangover as I was off to
work again. This time Welcome Crew
were at Uni Hall armed with Varsity
t-shirts, leaflets and foam fingers to
promote the one day sale at the sports'
fayre later in the week. We finished
slightly early, so I managed a quick
trip to the companies' fayre to stock up
on Domino’s vouchers. A short while
later I was back at home enjoying my
£2 pizza before getting ready to go out

back doing Varsity promotion, and I
thus had an excuse to dance around
brandishing a massive foam finger.
After a hectic few days I had vowed
to go home once my shift ended at 11,
but ended up being persuaded to stay
out and stumbled home in the early
hours.

I had to give in and
have a quick nap
before heading off
to Boombox
This proved regrettable as I had
to be back at the Union at 9.30am to
set up the RAG stall for the societies
fayre. Whilst I managed to maintain
enthusiasm for several hours, by 4pm
I was pretty much asleep with my
eyes open. Although I still managed to
meet people that evening for drinks,
followed by a meal (with a cocktail of
course), followed by a trip to the Taf.
Friday saw my final Welcome
Crew shift, and the week of working
and drinking was taking its toll. I had
to give in and have a quick nap before
heading off to Boombox for a friend’s
birthday.
Saturday was a much-needed day
of dossing about, but Sunday was the
end of Freshers’ Week Welcome Crew
party and a free bar was involved.
Many pints, a boat race, a trip to Buffalo and some cheesy chips later I was
in bed, several alarms set so I wouldn’t
miss my 9am lecture.
Now many of you freshers may
have skipped some lectures because
you were too hungover to attend. I
subscribe to the work hard, play harder
mentality, and thus dutifully rocked up
to my 9am lecture on time and didn’t
fall asleep at any point during the four

ILLNESS: the huge hand was occasionally useful
hours of lectures that followed. I did,
however, have to give in to the freshers' nap before the media recruitment
party. As I settled down to drink the
pint I had just purchased whilst enticing people to write for the features
section of gair rhydd, I realised that I
had approximately -2 minutes to get
to the RAG meeting I had arranged
with the committee. Unfortunately I
was not allowed to go upstairs with
my pint, so had to down it. 20 minutes
later I was given a free bottle of wine.
I had already bought a pint, so naturally drunk both, although I did share
half the bottle with others, as it was
only 8pm at this point. As I finished
my drink it was time for the RAG five
legged pub crawl to commence, and
I found myself tied to three very nice
freshers. Two pubs later and two of
these freshers had convinced me that
it was a good idea to drink 3 shots of
Sambuca followed by a Corky’s and a

cocktail. I still felt the need to have tequila and several pints at Fun Factory,
and whilst I can’t quite remember all
of it, I know I had a really good time.

At the third pub, a
cocktail and four
shots seemed like
a good idea

Seven nights out and over 40 alcoholic drinks later my final Freshers’
Week as a student was over. Being
involved with gair rhydd, RAG and
Welcome Crew, as well as being with
friends that I have got to know over
the past two years, made freshers’
week 2009 an unforgettable experience. The week was hectic, exhausting, but above all, fun. For me, my
third and final Freshers’ Week was by
far the best.

RAVE: third year is exactly like Skins
ty relieved when it was all over.
Roll on two years later and I’ve had
the time of my life. For me Freshers'
officially kicked off on Monday September 21. As part of the Students’
Union’s Welcome Crew team I spent
most of the day talking to freshers
living in Uni Hall, and thoroughly enjoyed chatting to some residents over
a cup of tea. As soon as my shift ended
I legged it home to wolf down some
dinner before heading back out for a
meeting of the RAG committee.
Freshers’ Week is a hectic time
for societies, with just a few days to
make students aware of your society
and get them interested enough to join
at the Societies' Fayre. Our tactic was
to head to Fun Factory armed with
‘I love RAG’ stickers, and through

again. This time I was having a brief
break from the Union, and instead met
my friend at the pub for a quiet couple
of drinks before meeting up with my
flatmates from first year. It was nice
to just get a bit drunk whilst catching
up with friends, rather than downing
vodka with a dash of lemonade in
preparation for a first-year night out.
After two years I was able to fully
appreciate that whilst getting smashed
and having conversations with people
you will never see again can be quite
amusing, it can actually be a lot nicer
just to get a bit tipsy with your pals.
Wednesday was spent sorting out
various things for RAG and helping
edit the features section for gair rhydd,
then in the evening I was working The
Lash with Welcome Crew. We were

LASH: generic drunken behaviour

14 FEATURES

gairrhydd | FEATURES@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

Keeping it Fresh: III
Features continues to remind you of the debauchery-filled time that
is Freshers' Week, before generalising to the entire student body...
the mature student
Richard Thomas
Features Writer
Punctuality – the enemy of the
relaxed and a way of life for the
organised. I always thought I was
the latter, but it took me 30 years
to submit my UCAS application
and so perhaps I am wrong.
As a fresh faced 17 year old, I was
easily distracted and university was
an irrelevance; as a world weary 47
year old here I am, recovering from
the excesses of Freshers' Week, pinching myself in disbelief that I am here
at all.
When asked once by a magazine
for a brief article about the acquisition
of wealth, John Paul Getty allegedly
wrote back “Some people find oil, and
some people don’t”.
In the same way, some
people went to university, and I didn’t. I
have swapped camps,
and feel extremely
fortunate. It’s been a
long wait but I have
finally struck “black
gold” for myself.
My excesses recently have not been acted
out at "The Lash" or in
the "Boombox". I
have no idea
what those
are of

course, since “the lash” was still in
regular use when I was in school, and
when someone asked if I wanted a
ticket for the “Freshers' Ball”, I wasn’t
sure if it was a dance or a raffle.
No, my extravagances have been
confined to walking everywhere, and
spending too much of my recently arrived funding. I will end up with the
same debt as everyone else, but in my
case, at least the prospect of having it
written off at age 85 is a bit nearer and
more relevant.

It took me 30 years
to submit my UCAS
application
There is much to happen before
then of course, and my first realisation in Freshers' Week was a stark
one; at the mature students induction,
it was clear that I was almost biologically possible to be the father
of the next oldest on my
course.
I feel younger for all
this walking around, but
I am as old as the statues in Alexandra Park. I
caught a half conversation having a coffee in the
Humanities Building Café
the other day. “When we
were born, nobody had
even heard of the internet”
was the gist of it. Blimey I
thought, when I was born,
nobody had heard of
The Beatles.
My
friends
and former colleagues are in
equal
parts
amused, bewildered and
concerned. I
gave a company
car
back at the
end of August
and was asked
“are you sure
about all this?”
No, I wasn’t,
and am still a
little doubtful
sometimes,
but it’s too
late - in for
a penny, in
for a student loan.
H a v ing come
from an
industrial environment

where Andrew Carnegie’s maxim
of “the first man gets the oyster and
the second man gets the shell” was
a challenging everyday reality, I am
starting to realise that there are plenty
of oysters here for everyone, and am
in awe of the facilities and resources
available to all of us. It’s nice not to
have to fight for a parking space and
wonder why you don’t have a key to
the executive washroom.
To do this for any of us requires
support and assistance and I am lucky
to have plenty. Without it, this “journey” (as they say on the “X Factor”)
would not be possible.
The network of people who have
provided moral support and practical help are numerous, and they will
be a constant source of motivation to
get me out of bed on a damp Monday
in November when my timetable is
empty.

I gave a company
car back - in for a
penny, in for a
student loan
I am hoping that won’t be a problem, and am more concerned at this
stage about the challenging nature of
the course (Journalism, Film and Media) and keeping my head above water

financially.
I want to prove to myself that success is possible, and less critically
for the time being, but ultimately the
whole point, I need to find a career to
take me into my dotage.

The generation gap
is not the problem I
was expecting
All of that is the negative stuff, and
it lives in a little box inside my head
and doesn’t come out too often. The
positives live in a much bigger box.
My fellow students have been kind,
interesting and great fun. The generation gap that I perceived beforehand is
not the chasm I was expecting, and I
have even used my student ID to buy
a “Big Mac and fries” for £1.99. It’s
just as well I am walking everywhere.
I am fitting in, but will have to draw
the line at buying a beanie hat and I
would prefer not to wear my trousers
slung around my groin to expose my
designer boxers. I guess everyone else
would prefer that too.
At a time when we are all no doubt
looking for some routine, some order
to things and a plan, I have resorted
to, for me, a familiar source of inspiration.
Nick is an old school friend of mine
who travelled the world with a view
to finding a new home in the place he

felt most comfortable, and has been in
Los Angeles for almost 20 years, running his own furniture business. He
has had scrapes, escapades, and an adventure book full of experiences and
is a source of wise words and calming
reassurances.
When I told him of my plans and
my worries, he came up with the bacon once more. “Need you ask what
I think of you taking the big leap of
faith and chasing your dreams?” said
his email. “You know how many cliff
edges I've thrown myself off in my
years, and while I've had a couple of
broken bones and bloody noses, lo
and behold, I'm still breathing, laughing, counting my blessings and thinking that life is good... It doesn't matter
so much what may lie at the end of
the university course, it will lead you
somewhere unknown and you'll be
fine.”

I draw the line at
buying a beanie
and wearing my
trousers around
my groin
Here goes over the cliff. I am hoping for an enjoyable float to the bottom and a soft landing, and will be
enjoying oysters all the way down.

BEANIE MAN: Richard won't be wearing one

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2009

NEWS 05

16 POLITICS

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

Germany's big choice

Following the German elections last week, Luke Snell considers
what impacts the result might have on global politics

F

our years ago, Angela Merkel
became the most powerful
woman on the planet and following her re-election as German
Chancellor last week she’s about
to get even stronger. Germany
is due to take a shimmy to the
right, and as Europe’s most populous country, with the 5th largest
economy in the world, this will affect everyone.
Known more for her power suits
than charisma, Merkel is leader of
the Christian Democrats (CDU), the
equivalent of our Conservative Party.
Since the 2005 election, the Christian
Democrats, along with their sister party the CSU, have been in an uneasy
‘grand’ coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), broad equivalents
to Labour. This was by no means a
marriage made in heaven, and is now
a marriage for the chop.
Enter Guido Westerwelle and his
Free Democratic Party (FDP), who
took a remarkable 15% of the vote.
Benefiting both from defecting CDU
and SPD voters, the right-libertarian,
pro-business FDP are Merkel’s preferred coalition partners, and will be
the supportive spouses the SPD never
were.
So what does a CDS/CSU-FDP coalition mean for Germany, Europe and

the rest of the world? First of all, if
Westerwelle takes the position of Foreign Minister in Merkel’s new cabinet, Germany’s two most powerful
people will be a woman and an openly
gay man. This remarkable duo will be
a beacon of social progression, a shining example that couldn’t be further
from Germany’s dark discriminatory
past.

leadership. The CDU/CSU has long
been a centre-right party with principles of social justice similar to Cameron’s, or at least what he’d like the
British public to believe he has. Free
from the shackles of the SDP, the new
CDU/CSU-FDP coalition could take a
serious stab at making these ideals a
reality. Cameron and Merkel wouldn’t
be perfect chums, however. The Lisbon Treaty, one of Europe’s biggest
political hot potatoes, is one that Germany will continue to staunchly support.

ening integration is also set to be reoiled. Sarkozy and Merkel have had
a frosty relationship until now, but it
should be thawed by the pro-business,
pro-integration German agenda. This
will be sour news for Turkey, a nation
eagerly hoping to join the European
Union. With the SPD ousted, and the
CDU/CSU, the FDP and the French
government opposed to its member-

ship, Turkey faces certain rejection.
Worse news still is for Germany’s
Social Democratic Party and the social democratic parties of Europe. The
SDP this year suffered one of its worst
defeats in history. Considering a similar trend present in France, Gordon
Brown and Britain’s social democrats,
the Labour Party, should ignore this
warning at their peril.

The SDP suffered
one of its worst
defeats in history
Germany's role in
the world is sure to
However, the issue persisting on
everybody’s lips is not social progres- evolve now
sion. The global financial crisis continues, and Merkel’s new centre-right
Germany will have a taste for deregulation, open markets and privatisation. Thatcher she ain’t, (you won’t
catch Merkel claiming there’s no such
thing as society) but Germany, which
has already seen slight growth in its
economy this year, could be heading
towards a financial and banking sector
rivalling Britain’s.
Should Conservative leader David
Cameron win next year’s election he
would actually find a lot in common
with the newly augmented German

Germany’s role in the world is
sure to evolve with this ideological
shift in German politics. Fervour for
transatlantic unity and business opportunities will further bind Merkel
and Obama. Germany is bitter after
losing (to China) the status of world’s
biggest exporter of goods earlier this
year. Merkel and Westerwelle will be
desperate to get back on top, and a
more intense alliance with the USA is
the way to do it.
The Franco-German engine powering the European Union’s ever deep-

Rhodri Morgan steps down

After 10 years at the top of Welsh politics, Rhodri Morgan has
decided to stand down.
Damian Fantato has a look

R

hodri Morgan has confirmed
that he will be stepping
down as leader of the Labour Party in Wales and therefore
also as First Minister of Wales. He
will leave his job in December after a vote on the assembly government’s budget.
Morgan has spent 10 years at the
top of Welsh politics and took over
as First Minister of Wales in 2000 replacing Alun Micheal. He turned 70
this week and currently heads a coalition of Labour and Plaid Cymru in
the Welsh Assembly that was formed
following the 2007 elections. Though
he described it as a “burden”, Morgan
claimed that he “loved his job” but
that “10 years was about right”. He
stressed that he did not want to appear
“greedy” for power and be forced out
of office like Margaret Thatcher.
He had revealed to the Labour Party conference last week that his leadership “would not have long to run”
but formally announced his departure
to the press on Thursday 1 October

after meeting with his party’s
AMs.
His decision to stand down
will trigger a leadership election, with three leading Assembly Members (AMs) considered
to be the leading candidates to replace him: Counsel General Carwyn
Jones, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
AM Huw Lewis, and Health
Minister Edwina Hart. Morgan himself has refused to
endorse a candidate in the
leadership election. “It will be
the first Labour campaign in
the last 48 years that I have not
been involved in”.
Morgan’s decision to resign
has sparked a tidal wave of tributes from across the party boundaries. The Leader of Plaid Cymru,
Ieuan Wyn Jones, described his
impact on Welsh politics as being “extremely significant”, whilst
the Leader of the Conservative
Party in the Welsh Assembly, Nick
Bourne, said that “no-one can ques-

tion his commitment
to Wales and the assembly during his 10
years as first minister,
or the important role
he has played in Welsh
political life.”
Morgan’s path to the
top of Welsh politics
can only be described
as bumpy. He began his
career as a civil servant,
entering politics at the
relatively late age of 47,
becoming MP for Cardiff West in 1987. Once
Labour won the 1997
general election he
was purportedly refused a position
i n

the Welsh Office by Prime Minister Tony Blair, who later went on to
overlook him again by endorsing Alun
Michael as leader of the Welsh Labour
Party in 1999. When Alun Michael's
minority government faced a vote of
no confidence after only nine
months he was inevitably replaced by Rhodri Morgan. Whilst
claiming that he
was
“shafted”
by Tony Blair,
he refused to
bear a grudge.
He claimed that
his
proudest
achievement was
changing the way
that children

between three and seven are taught
by introducing the Foundation Phase,
which encourages learning through
play. His greatest disappointment was
the “savagery of the recession” that
has hit the Welsh economy.
It is hard to deny that Rhodri Morgan has changed Wales and the
United Kingdom though his
leadership of the Welsh Assembly and he will most
certainly be a hard act to
follow. The question that
remains now is will Wales
continue to have the stability of leadership, the vision
and the direction that it has
had for the past 10 years, particularly in these times of economic crisis? One thing that is
certain is that Wales will have to
wait a long time for another
leader of such influence.

gairrhydd | POLITICS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

POLITICS 17

To protect and serve?

Cicily Giles shares her thoughts with us on the upcoming trial of
the policeman responsible for the death of a protester
he G20 protests on April the
were intended to be peaceful – but for some they ended
in sadness, violence and even
death.
As of September 28, Sergeant Delroy (Tony) Smellie is to be the first officer charged in connection with G20.
He is charged with the assault of Ms
Nicola Fisher, 35, after a video of her
being apparently pushed, slapped, and
beaten around the legs with a baton
appeared on YouTube. Complaints
against the same officer were made by
another woman, but prosecutors said
there was not enough evidence.
Ms Fisher says she was on her way
to a vigil for newspaper seller Ian
Tomlinson when she was assaulted.
Mr Tomlinson died the night before, on April 1, of internal bleeding
after being beaten around the legs
by baton and pushed to the floor by
police. He was merely a bystander,
not involved with the protest, and his
death lead to widespread accusations
of police brutality and calls for police
policy and training to be changed.
Change comes too late for one unnamed young woman of 23, who after being pushed, kicked and struck
with police shields suffered exten-

T

sive bruising and later severe vaginal
bleeding, which doctors told her was a
possible miscarriage.
These are a few of the 145 complaints to be made against officers
after the G20 summit; a staggering
testimony to the heavy-handed use of
force against the mostly peaceful protesters.

The Metropolitan
Police was heavily
criticised over it's
use of 'kettling'
The Metropolitan Police was extensively criticised over it's use of
'kettling' - containing protesters within cordons and preventing them from
leaving, sometimes with force. In
some cases, protesters were kept for
five hours or more. The Joint Committee on Human Rights condemned
the practice, saying protesters, the majority of whom were peaceful, should
have been given access to toilets, water, and medical facilities. They also
highlighted the failure of many officers to properly display identification
– something which, according to the

JCHR, should have been dealt with by
supporting officers at the time. They
also suggest it should perhaps be
made a legal requirement for officers
to display correct identification whilst
on duty.
Perhaps? After the events of G20,
is there any doubt of this? The police
force is there to protect and serve the
public – and when they fail to do so,
the public should be able to identify
those they cannot trust and take the
necessary steps. With the so-called
'war on terror' and increase in police
powers, we need all the measures possible to prevent their abuse. The G20
protesters were treated like terrorists,
regardless of their intentions.
I do not pretend that all the G20
protests were peaceful, and I deplore
the damage done to police, civilians,
homes and businesses. The violence
was unreasonable and unsupportable
– yet I can understand the frustration
of those kept from their homes, toilets or even water for hours on end.
I agree that in some cases, the police
can and should use force if necessary
to protect themselves, the public and
property. However, the widespread
violence against protesters at G20 was
certainly not that.

Smellie comes to court on 16 November 2009, and is suspended until
his case is decided. The events around
Mr Tomlinson have been investigated
in a separate enquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission,
and the evidence presented to the
Crown Prosecution Service. They are
not expected to make any decision for

some time. Until that time, and until
those other violent officers are dealt
with by the appropriate authorities,
the public will continue to ask themselves: if the police are here to protect
us, who will protect us from the police?

Brown and out

In the wake of Gordon Brown's speech at the Labour Party
conference, Jack Jordan ponders on its effects

G

ordon Brown delivered his
speech to the Labour Party
conference last week, and
it was a speech that desperately
needed to be a good one. One
cabinet minister was quoted as
saying that this conference "cannot be just another bog standard
conference".
Something has needed to change
for some time for Brown to even hope
for re-election. Labour have been falling in the polls consistently and haemorrhaging votes for months. Labour
needed to shake things up, to change
the status quo.
But it seems that Gordon Brown’s
beginning to look happier these days.
Just a few more painful months in office, he’s telling himself, then come
the glory days; the inevitably flattering political obituaries, after-dinner
speaking engagements and the freedom to amble off to a well-meaning
job crunching numbers somewhere.
You know what? He's resigned himself to the inevitable.
This Labour conference has been a
sad one, really. Stiff upper lips have

been on prominent display, and the
soundtrack to Brighton 2009 has been
the string quartet going down with the
Titanic. The Prime Minister’s speech
was vintage, forgettable New Labour
material; something old, something
new, something borrowed and nothing
red enough to irritate Middle England.
He started with a quick reminder that
he hasn’t murdered his wife, moved
through a Stalinesque list of dubious
Labour achievements, job-creation
schemes, populist ideas for targeting
overpaid bakers and corrupt MPs, then
yet another House of Lords reform
promise and some Tory-bashing to get
the audience clapping at the end.

Something
has
needed to change
for some time for
Brown to hope for
re-election
On a technical level it was a good
speech. Its emphasis on choice in
the next general election gelled well

with Lord Mandelson’s speech of
the previous day. It couldn’t hide the
conference’s undertones of reluctant
resignation, though: the Prime Minister’s acceptance that he can’t sack his
Chancellor, Lord Mandelson’s U-turn
on accepting the inevitability of cuts,
pretty much everyone’s quiet calculations of which seats will turn Conservative come May.
A better speech would have taken
an ungainly jump to the left, woken
up the core vote and reignited a sense
of Labour identity - though it seems
unlikely that delegates to the Labour
conference will go home unhappy
since the speech was rich in the Toryslamming, banker-hating banality that
they probably love but which will
probably prove insufficient to win
over the floating voter.
A better conference might have seen
leadership-bid tantrums from Brown’s
enemies, or at least have avoided the
spectacle of Cabinet Ministers too
afraid of appearing ambitious to say
anything interesting in public. Who
needs that kind of hassle, though,
when you can wait for quieter times

once the Tories are running things?
This is a party that’s ready for defeat,
and its strategy is now clear – stick to
the middle of the road, take the afternoons off and hope like hell that they
Tories disappears.
As for David Cameron, he will
probably sleep easily in his bed over
the coming months. Labour chose

safety over risk and gained nothing.
The Labour grassroots have been contented, but not invigorated. The stage
is set for him to bring the house down
at the Tory conference next week.
Labor had an opportunity to win, but
wasted it. The truth is that they didn't
want to use it. In their heads, they've
already lost.

18 LETTERS

gairrhydd | LETTERS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

the
Comments from the week’s news, opinion, features and sport at www.gairrhydd.com

Letters:

Dear gair rhydd,

I’ve ever been gruntled, but following the start of term I find myself
very disgruntled indeed!
I’m slightly puzzled as to the presence of the Debating Society, LMS
and others at both days of the Societies’ Fair. Does Cardiff University not
have enough societies to fill the hall
twice over?
I was under the impression the
days were to be themed; perhaps
some societies are suffering a crisis
of identity?
I’d just like to check this with
the Societies’ Sabbatical Officer, in
case it had not been brought to her
attention. Unfortunately, I find myself
unable to recall those societies she
was previously involved with, and I
would not want to be so uncharitable
as to use the words, ‘blatant favouritism,’ as I’m sure it has been honestly
overlooked at what is, after all, a very
busy time of year for the Execs.

Patrick Barry

presence of different society rather
than have them sit empty.
As a result, a number of societies
that approached the fayre management team were offered the opportunity to return to the fayre the following day, on the off chance stalls may
be left vacant.
Where societies failed to attend,
these stalls were allocated on a first
come first served basis, on the understanding that they would be asked to
vacate their stall should the intended
occupants appear.
In response to the accusation,
I would like point out that I have
never, at any point during my time
as a student at Cardiff University,
been a member of either the Debating
Society or LMS.
Over the 2 days of the Societies
fayres and the months leading up to
them, a huge amount of effort went
into the provision of 133 society
stalls.
There is a significant cost associated with the hosting of the fayres
and, as I’m sure the majority of
people would agree, an empty stall is
of benefit to no one.
Carys Hazell, Societies, Events and
Activities Officer

Dear Patrick,

On both days of the Societies
Fayres a small number of societies
failed to make use of the stalls that
they were allocated.
Therfore, it was decided that we
would prefer these stalls to have the

Comments:
Vladimir Putin and
the games he plays

Balqis ---He was asked a question and he
answered
If he hadn’t, you would have still
said he is playing games
Billie Joe ---Well, as the leader of the free world,
Mr. Medvedev can certainly afford to
take the free advices from the genius
Vladimir Putin so why is that
perplexing you and confusing you so
much, Jack?
Jack Jordan ---I’m pretty easily confused, Billie. Are
you asking whether I’m pro-United
Russia?
Balquis – Putin has refused to
answer questions about this plenty of
times before without me accusing
him of playing games. This quote
from him was the first signal of a new
game, as far as I can tell.

An extremely
depressing anniversary
Someone says...
A fair assessment of things.
My advice is to stock up on warm

forum

clothes while you have your loan to
fall back on, then when you leave uni
squat one of the many empty houses
with some good mates and dumpster
all your food for the foreseeable.
I know a few people who do
this and they may not have a car or
the latest iPhone but they are very
happy in their lives and don’t have to
worry about getting a job as a kitchen
lackey in McDonalds.
There are plenty of other things
to do with your time after all such
as graffing up the walls of your new
home, banging out some wicked
tunes on your guitar, doing community outreach projects for the homeless
with all that skipped food, and learning how to build rocket stoves, solar
showers and compost toilets.
Free living isn’t just a dream, it’s a
tangible reality, and the more people
who do it, the bigger the support
community and the easier it gets.
Sweet ;)

Books not bombs?
Jonathan Bird ---Dan, I see in you an idealist and sincere person trying to achieve peace.
I don’t understand how it could
be by the ways you prescribe. I don’t
see how pacivism or anarchism can
ever work. Also I don’t recognise the
Israeli people and the history of zionism which you paint. Other than a
fringe of a nation of 7 million people.
On the subject of anti-zionism

anti-semetism debate. Many members
of one semetic nation the hebrews the
people of Israel. (Please note Israel
was the name of a man, a people an
ancient nation and a modern state)
become alarmed and yes hostile when
there attachment to their homeland
described as Imperialism and another
nation called THE only indigenous
people.
Dan ---Jon,
I never make the mistake of describing the Palestinians as the ‘only’
indigenous people of the Holy Land.
The ‘semitic’ peoples encompass not
just Jews but also Palestinians and
Bedouins (another indigenous group
marginalised by the Israeli state). I
recognise all these groups as indigenous to the area, and my only desire
for that strip of land is to see them all
live in peace.
I am not myself a pacifist, as I
believe that in some rare situations
force is a necessary part of self
defence. However you are right in
labeling me an idealist… but if we
aren’t working towards an ideal
then what exactly are we working
towards?
I’d be more than happy to sit down
with you sometime and discuss the
practicality (or otherwise) of anarchism, but I feel that this is not the
place for such a broad, contentious
and open-ended debate.

Just finishing your degree?
Would you like to teach at primary
or secondary level?
Why not study for a PGCE and gain
qualified teacher status?
Train in Wales and you could earn whilst studying

PGCE Secondary Information Morning
Tuesday, 10th November 2009
The Swansea School of Education
If you would like to attend, please register by
contacting Kelly Harsant on 01792 482105
or email kelly.harsant@smu.ac.uk

Biology | Chemistry | Physics | Science 11-16 | Mathematics

For these subjects above you will receive a Training Grant of £7,200 and a Teaching Grant of £5,000*

Researchers from Trinity College
in Dublin say they have evidence
that torture techniques used by
the Bush administration on terror
suspects were not likely to have
gotten the truth and in fact would
have made detainees forget information.
Professor Shane O’Mara said that
memory was impaired by techniques
such as sleep deprivation and waterborading, which induces the perception of drowning while being bound
head down and blind folded. In his
article ‘Torturing the Brain’ for journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences he
said the extreme stress put on prisoners from these techniques would cause
memories to worsen.
O’Mara lists 10 methods of torture
used by the US which apply to his research. He said the US Department of
Justice released memos detailing coercive interrogation techniques using
extreme stress, shock, disorientation
and lack of control that were assumed
to give more reliable information
from captives than standard interrogation techniques. He said that modern
neuroscience follows that this would
not be the case. Experiencing stress
causes an increased release in stress
hormones which provoke the brain
to immediately prepare the body and

brain in response to a threat. This is
thought to impair memory and can result in damage to brain tissue.
The age old fear with torture techniques are that the captive will say
anything to avoid the torture continuing even if it is a lie. O’Mara believes

this is the case and points out that
this can also be a stressful situation
for the perpetrators of the torture and
the captive will be encouraged to say
anything, truth or lie, so they can stop
administering the interrogation.
O’Mara points out in the article

that these negative effects on the brain
may not be visible to the naked eye.
“Coercive interrogations involving
extreme stress are unlikely to facilitate the release of veridical information from long-term memory, given
our current cognitive neurobiological

knowledge. The fact that the detrimental effects of these techniques on
the brain are not visible to the naked
eye makes them no less real.”

Fears over Copenhagen failure

UN Climate talks start in two months, but there are concerns that
America will not sign an agreement to tackle climate change
Amy Hall
Science and Environment
Environmentalists’ eyes will be on
whether President Obama commits to a global agreement on
climate change that is intended
to be reached at the UN Climate
talks in December.
As one of the most important countries to enter into any global agreement through power, money and carbon emissions it is seen as vital that
the USA is behind any agreement
intended to follow on from the Kyoto
Protocol which expires in 2012.
Officially known as COP 15, Copenhagen is where world leaders will
be looking for a solid international
agreement on what to do about climate change joined by thousands of

advisors, diplomats and campaigners
from nearly 200 countries.
Although Kyoto came into force in
2005 this was seven years after it was
first negotiated and even then it was
not ratified by key players in greenhouse gas emissions such as the USA,
China or India. There are worries
that history may repeat itself and any
potential agreement at Copenhagen
could take this long to come to.
Obama has made more effort to
show the international community
that he is serious about tackling climate change than his predecessor
Bush and he had promised to engage
with the negotiation process fully. In
his inauguration speech he talked of
‘tirelessly’ working towards a better
future for the planet and has recently
called for an end to fossil fuel extraction in a speech to the UN. However,

the President may delay signing up to
any agreement until next year if he
feels the US economy is not ready.
Barack Obama has made plans for
an 80% reduction in America’s emissions but he faces strong opposition
at home to any big action on climate
change. Senators are concerned that
drastic changes will have a detrimental effect on the economy. This
domestic pressure is one of the main
reasons cited for the possibility that
Obama may not sign up to an agreement this year, a delay which scientists and campaigners say there is not
time for.
Pressure is mounting on President
Obama to attend the talks in person
especially as Gordon Brown has now
committed although there are fears that
domestic commitments such as the
current health care reformation may

get in the way. Britain is thought to be
one of the main players in thrashing
out an agreement due to its friendship
with the USA. There is worry though
that the British government may face
looking hypocritical due to the expansion of British aviation and the plans
to build a new coal fired power station
at Kingsnorth in Kent.
The effects of climate change are
now a lot more current and visible and
scientists say that the earth’s temperature is rising faster than first predicted.
Despite this threat an agreement in
Copenhagen could still be unstable.
Global agreements are notoriously
hard to reach and a major problem in
reaching agreements about climate
change specifically is that developing countries often feel it is unfair
that they should change as emissions
contributing to climate change have

mainly been from richer countries
in the West. However some of these
countries are now emitting more than
many rich countries, China now has
the biggest carbon emissions in the
world, doubling its emissions since
1996, and countries like the US think
they should also be shouldering some
of the restrictions despite this being a
new development.
Campaigners and community
groups across the UK are joining
the build up to Copenhagen holding
speaker tours, stunts, cycle rides and
demonstrations including the national
climate change march in London in
December, this year called The Wave.
Copenhagen could be the last
chance for a lasting global agreement
on climate change for many years.
Years which scientists have warned
are running out.

22 JOBS & MONEY

gairrhydd | JOBS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

Retail: an Oasis?

Our Jobs and Money editor looks at what two of Britain's supermarket giants can offer graduates in the midst of a recession
Katie Greenway
Jobs and Money Editor

spectively.

I am sure you are aware of the
economic downturn by now. We
are the graduates that will suffer
from the idiot bankersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; idiot decisions. But quite frankly I am up
for a bit of optimism so I am going to discuss the retail industry
which even amongst the credit
crunch doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be doing
too badly.
Just last week the new John Lewis
in Cardiff opened and St Davids 2
opens on October 22.
These are examples of growth in
the industry therefore I am going to
assume that there may be scope for its
graduate recruitment.
I am going to try and get an insight
into the Waitrose and Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
graduate schemes this week.
I have spoken to representatives of
each company â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; re-

Adam, why have you chosen to
work for Waitrose?
I decided to join the Waitrose graduate scheme due to the managerial experience that it offers to its graduates,
particularly at such a young age; in a
few months I will potentially manage
up to 70 people.
I really appreciate that Waitrose
is very customer orientated and it is
a very ethical company and is very
good with regards to the environment.
Furthermore the company itself is
very loyal to its staff.
My job is safe and in such times
as these it is very comforting. Also
the benefits package is great; I get a
competitive salary as well as a noncontributory pension plus all the other
perks.
Mo, why have you chosen to work
for Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s?
Our company values â&#x20AC;&#x201C; best for food

& health; sourcing with integrity; respect for the environment; making a
positive difference to our community
and making sure Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is a great
place to work, have continued to stand
the test of time.
This year we have 23 different graduate & summer placement
schemes ranging in areas all across
the business; from Logistics, Marketing and Finance to IT, HR and Store
Development.
Adam if you could describe Waitrose as an animal, what animal
would it be?
I would say an Iguana.
Due to its great vision and ability
to adapt to its surroundings Waitrose
is currently the fastest growing supermarket in the country.
Mo if you could describe Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as an animal, what animal
would it be?
In my opinion, I think Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

would be best represented by an
elephant.
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong and big but equally
respectful and gentle.
Both very respectful companies and both providing excellent graduate schemes so I feel
confident in saying, with certain conviction, that the retail
profession may be the oasis
in this metaphorical economic
desert.
I appreciate that a supermarket
may not seem appealing to some but
it gives you the opportunity to join a
very large and successful company,
get great benefits and either managerial experience and/or with the scope
to progress to head office roles.
You can find more information
on the Waitrose graduate scheme at
www.waitrosejobs.com, and Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will be at the Careers Fair in
the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union on November
11.

What
(else)
is on...
So freshers' week is over, and lectures
have begun.
It's time for the first years to keep
partying on, the second years to desperately cling to their last hope of fun
and youthfulness, and the remainder
of Cardiff's Uni population to seemily
endear the hangovers of this lot after
their single night out.
It's not all bad though. If the club
nights are not for you, there's plenty
more to do around and about Cardiff.
This week sees some packed weekdays, with plenty of club choice, and music choice alike. And your days should be
filled with lectures. Wahey!
The weekend, however, should be a
time spent getting to know Cardiff, so
get off your arse, and give public transport one last chance!
Here are a few places I think you
should go on your days off...
1. Cardiff Bay: even if you've done it to
death, it's about the people you go with.
Mermaid quay will keep you nice and
busy.
2. Brecon Beacons: Always looming on
the horizon of Cardiff, not quite out of
reach. Just get on the next train to Merthyr Tydfil or Abergavenny.

gairrhydd | LISTINGS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

EVENTS THIS WEEK
Monday

5th October
FUN FACTORY, Solus, Free
If you like it alternative, if you like it rocking,
and most of all, if you like it loud then there
is only one thing for it – and that’s Fun Factory. Comprising a playlist including the likes
of System of a Down, Kasabian, Foo Fighters,
Rage Against the Machine, Reel Big Fish and
Biffy Clyro.
LE FREAK, Buffalo Bar, £3
Tonight music and fashion become best friends
as the Le Freak club night launches at Buffalo.
Includes live bands, DJs, and stalls from some
of the best loved brands in the city! Let’s hope
it’s not just a late night Topshop…
SCREAMING LIGHTS, 10 Feet Tall, £TBC
Rotterdam, or anywhere, Liverpool, or Rome…
Well, Liverpool actually, and they’re here on
their debut tour, fresh out of school. If they can
make it past the bouncers, expect both rave and
rock, euphoric organs and dirty guitar, and support from The Crookes.
THE MISSION DISTRICT, Barfly, £5
Canadian synth-pop influenced by '80s Brit
bands such as The Cure, Tears For Fears and
Talk Talk sway their way into the newly refurbished Barfly. At only £5 this is a great gig to
get down to!

Tuesday

6th October
PAOLO NUTINI, Wales Millennium Centre,
£16 He’s got his new shoes on, and a new
tour to boot! Come get a fresh look at the man
who’s difficult to spell, in a refreshingly different venue.
CHIC BEAT, Revolution, £4
Chic Beat is back and it's the place to party underground style. With the coolest crowds and
club bangers this place is all about the music.
Expect a fusion of pounding beats, high-energy
dancing and an electric atmosphere as the DJ
spins tunes guaranteed to get your body moving.
ZENYTH, Clwb Ifor Bach, £5
If you don’t fancy Paolo and would prefer
something a bit more rocky, check out Zenyth.
Recent winners of Cardiff Uni’s battle of the
bands are finally launching a debut single, Free,
into the likes of HMV. Live is where they hit it
best though – see them now before they have to
charge you hefty prices for bigger gigs!
COMEDY CLUB, CF10
Comedy Club selects the finest young talent
on the comedy circuit and brings them directly
to your union for a stupidly cheap ticket price.
See the next big thing before they start charging
too much to see them in venue where you can’t
even see their face. The intimate atmosphere of
CF10 is perfect for this hilarious night. Combined with the cheapest drinks you’ll find in
Cardiff, there is no reason not to smile.

Wednesday
7th October

OXJAM LAUNCH PARTY, Barfly, £TBC
It’s back, and it’s the perfect time to get involved. If the live music society caught your
eye at the freshers’ fayre, this is for you. Head
to www.oxjam.co.uk or to Barfly for more details.
LASH, Solus, £3
Another year, another re-brand for the Wednesdays at Solus. As well as chart and cheese,
expect games on the stage so filthy that the
changing room showers don’t stand a chance.
Make sure you don’t miss what could be the
best team bonding session of the week.
METROS, £5 w/flyer
It's time to introduce Metros to Cardiff newbies. It's more fun if it remains a bit mysterious
at first, sooooo... just go! What do you need me
for?!
ORANGE WEDNESDAYS
It doesn't look there's a lot happening tonight
unless you fancy a club, so why not treat yourself to 2 cinema tickets? You don't get to see
the film twice, but it'll be a hell of a lot more
comfy.

3. Porthcawl: Missing the beach? I am.
Get down there before winter bites! Alternatively try the beach a stones throw
from Swansea.
4. Touring: Try out the Brains Brewery
tour. If that's not for you, how about the
Millennium Stadium?
The point is, enjoy - the year will fly by!

COME PLAY, Cardiff Students' Union,
£3.50
It’s Saturday night and that only means one
thing – it's time for Come Play. Come Play is the
biggest student party held on a Saturday night
and is well renowned for big tunes, funny moments and bumping into everyone you know.
With a range of music from chart, dance and
pop, the Come Play DJs cater for all tastes.

8th October

CYNT, Clwb Ifor Bach, £3
After the huge success of the SMD party,
CYNT is back in its regualr home of Clwb. If
you enjoyed the fresher-tastic scene at the SU
last week, make sure to check out the more intimate setting of one of the oldest (but still great)
independent clubs in town. And, silly cheap at
£3 before 11pm.
JARRED CHRISTMAS, Glee Club
It's a funny man with a funny name, what more
do you want?! This is the best of stand up comedy aside from the obvious huge names - most
of which he has supported (note Jack Dee,
Lee Evans). Other stand up comes from Rob
Heeny, Richard Morton and Ian Moore. Continues until Saturday.

BUBBLES, Techniquest
During the day, if you find yourself wondering
where the hell your youth has gone, you can go
and make some square bubbles at Techniquest.
You'll be surprised how many university students find themselves baffled by a place aimed
at selling science to kids!

Sunday

11th October
OKTOBERFEST AUF WIEDERSEHEN, Buffalo, £FREE before 11pm
This, my friends, is the future of clubs. With
free entry all night to anyone in Oktoberfest
fancy dress (pull those lederhosen out of the
closet), beer steins filled with foamy world
beers, girls in awful orange Jagermeister
dresses, and live music and DJs organised by
full fat, where can you go wrong? See you
there. Auf Wiedersehen, bitches.
OXJAM, Clwb Ifor Bach, £8
Tickets will be exchanged for wristbands
from 2pm at Toucan, which will gain entry
to Revs, Clwb, Toucan, Dempseys and Y Fuwch Goch. There's a huge lineup of music all
day, continuing until 2am! All proceeds go to
Oxfam, of course.

QUIZ NIGHT, The Blackwier
By far my favourite quiz. Not because it's easy,
but mainly because first prize gets you a minute behind the bar. And the theme for the quiz
is family fortunes! Enjoy! And pour me a pint
when you win...

If you were asked to select a
‘World One Day International XI’
how many of the current England
players from the Natwest series
against Australia, and the ICC
Champions trophy squad would
you include? Go on, be honest…
probably none.
Our best performing batsmen Strauss, Shah (against South Africa
anyway) and Morgan - are there better
out there in the world? Hmm let me
chuck a few names in the hat - Ponting, Smith, Gayle (on his day), Yuvraj Singh, De Villiers, Tillekeratne
Dilshan, MS Dhoni to name a few the list goes on.
To the bowlers then. Jimmy Anderson rightly leads the attack with support from Broad, Sidebottom, Bresnan,
Onions and Swann. Again, how many
would be in the World XI? Probably
none. Anderson is a very good bowler,
but put him, and the rest of the line-up
next to the current crop of world class
ODI bowlers such as Lee, Muralitharan, Mendis, Johnson, Steyn, Parnell
and Umar Gul, and they are somewhat
dwarfed.
Before we go further, I must mention the absence of Kevin Pietersen
and Andrew Flintoff from the England
squad due to injury, who would arguably get into the World XI.
Looking back at the England teams
fortunes in ODI cricket over the last 5
years, shows that they have a win to
loss ratio of 0.83. They have played
119 matches, of which 50 have been
won, 60 lost, three ties, and six no
results. For a nation that supposedly
invented the game, it’s not great really
is it?

at India, which only ended prematurely due to the bombing atrocities
that occurred. This inconsistent form
dates back even further, to just over
12 months ago, where England dispatched of South Africa 5-0 in the
home one-day international series.
Going from these statistics, it seems
that England seem to be turning into
the French Rugby Union side; one
week they will be unstoppably on fire,
the next they’ll roll over limply almost gifting you the match. An opinionated comparison I know, but it has
its truth when taken as inconsistency
over whole series’ rather than how the
French can turn up and play completely differently week after week.
So it was with bated breath that
England arrived in South Africa 10
days ago after their shambolic display
against Australia. Although not as
highly regarded amongst the cricketing world as the new World T20, or
the ICC World Cup, the new format
of the Champions Trophy gives no
easy games and if a team puts a run
together, any one of the eight teams
involved could become champions.
England have proven this spectacularly. In a group with hosts South
Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand,
you would be hard pushed to find
many people backing England to be
in the top two. What a difference a
week makes though. England comfortably beat the strongly-fancied Sri
Lankans last Friday, helped by winning the toss and making use of the
seamer friendly conditions. Enlgand’s
new protégé Eoin Morgan finished off
the run chase with a well executed
unbeaten 62. England then continued

It seems that
England seem to
be turning into
the French Rugby
Union side
Most recently, the newly crowned
Ashes winners performed dismally to
be thrashed 6-1 in the ODI series that
followed the Ashes against Australia.
Prior to this they had beaten West Indies with an overall score of 5-2 home
and away. However, this scalp is not
nearly as impressive as those who remember the great West Indies teams
of the 80s and early 90s.
Last December saw another embarrassing series defeat of 5-0 away

Andrew Strauss

their ‘perform well for a series’ form
by knocking out the hosts South Africa last Sunday in what was a blistering
display of attacking batting that was
simply a pleasure to watch, and put
them through to the last four.

England must
start producing
consistent results
without Flintoff
and Pietersen
On Tuesday, England’s 3 match
winning streak came to an end when
they were confidently beaten by the
Kiwis in the last group match. In the
teams defence though, the pitch was
not up to an international standing,
with wickets arising from balls spitting viciously off a length, and then
pitching half way down the track and
failing to rise above ankle height.
Strauss’ men did also display a ‘never
give in attitude’ in the field and caused
the Kiwis to lose six wickets when
chasing the fairly meagre target set.
One of the key problems of recent
times for England has been the lack
of taking advantage of the power
play overs at the start of an innings.
This has been highlighted specifically
since the retirement from international cricket of Marcus Trescothick,
who did this so well. The recent great
Australian team demonstrated this
perfectly with Hayden and Gilchrist
opening, to bully the bowlers. South

Africa have Smith and Gibbs for the
same task. England need Strauss and
Denly, or whoever they choose as the
skipper’s partner to do this, and they
did a good job of it against South Africa last week.
Another thing that was successful
against the hosts was how Shah and
Collingwood ran well between the
wickets to keep the runs ticking over
in the middle overs where in the past
England have lost their way. This
partnership of 163 set England up
perfectly to have a hit in the last 10
overs, and that’s exactly what Morgan did, leading England to a brilliant
score. This brilliant offensive batting
display, followed up by a solid display
from the bowlers is what England
must start producing consistently; and
all of this without the two world class
performers of Flintoff and Pietersen.
The current England squad does not
include many, if any genuine world
class players, but surely if they play
collectively well as a team, and back
each other up, as they did last Sunday
against South Africa, then perhaps
they can continue to out perform the
stars of the other teams. Former England captain Nasser Hussain used to
talk of his team needing to play well
together for the sum of the team to
better the sum of the individuals that,
say, Australia had at the time.
This can be linked to the ‘Galacticos’ method advocated by Florentino
Perez in his first stint as President of
Real Madrid. He spent all that money
on Zidane, Beckham and Ronaldo
amongst others, but they never really
gelled as a team, and were therefore
not as unstoppable as had been foreseen. This is was what Hussain was
getting at; how a well-worked team
that plays for each other can beat a
team of stars. This seems to be the
direction that England needs to go,
especially until messers Pietersen and
Flintoff return, and even then they
must be thoroughly integrated into
the closeness of the team, to continue
this.
Can this be accomplished by the
England team? Can they beat Australia, and triumph in the final this Monday? Can they continue this form into
the ODI series this coming winter in
South Africa? Is there a light at the
end of the tunnel? Dare we dream of
actually consistently challenging and
winning in this form? Only time will
tell…

In 1966 England famously won
the FIFA World cup, beating
Germany 4-3

2.
In 2003 Jonny Wilkinson's last
gasp drop goal won England's
rugby team the World cup

3.
In 2001 England thrashed Germany 5-1 in Munich, a result
that included a Michael Owen
Hat-trick

4.
In 2005 England won the Ashes
back from Australia, a test series
that went down as one of Freddy
Flintoff's best ever.

5.
In 2008 Lewis Hamilton became
the first Englishman to win the
F1 World Championship since
Damon Hill in 1996.

30 SPORT - THE WARM UP
Previews in
brief
SPEEDWAY FINAL
This week sees the Elite League
Speedway season draw to a close,
and while many really will not
know the point of skidding round
a dirt track four times on a motorbike with no brakes, it really is
going to be a great event.
The final sees a Swindon Robins
side who have been in sparkling form

throughout the season take on the
Wolverhampton Wolves. Swindon,
who finished top of the Elite League
table managed to overcome the Coventree Bees in the play-off semi-final
in rather unconvincing fashion, whilst
the Wolves' passage was a little more
straight forward.
Matej Zagar, Leigh Adams and Simon Stead of the Robins are the ones
to watch, especially in the home leg
of the tie. Peter Lindgren and Peter
Karlsson should be back to full fitness
and full form for Wolves by the time
of the final, or any chance they had
would be significantly reduced.
Smart money is on the Robins finally taking the Elite League spoils
after three seasons of consistent performance, without silverware. The
first leg from Wolverhampton is on
October 5th while the return meet is
the following week.

Lucy Morgan looks ahead to the 2009/10 Heineken Cup
and predicts a slow start for the Welsh contingent
This weekend sees the start of
one of the most exciting tournaments in the rugby calendar. Now
in its 15th season, the Heineken
Cup continues to grow both in
quality and popularity and, if last
season is anything to go by, this
year’s tournament promises to be
another showcase of top class
rugby. But who looks set to come
out on top this season?
The Welsh regions have got off to
a slow start in the Magners League so
will be looking to prove their worth
and make an impact on the Heineken
Cup this season.
This weekend Cardiff Blues kick
off their Heineken Cup campaign
against Harlequins at the new Cardiff
City Stadium and, after finally breaking their losing streak last weekend,
they should go into the game with a
renewed confidence. After their disappointment last season – losing their
semi-final against Leicester in a never-before-seen penalty kick-out – they
will be determined to make their mark
on the tournament once again. However, Cardiff have somewhat dipped
in form this season and are suffering
badly from the loss of Nicky Robinson to Gloucester. Despite a probable
Cardiff win, Harlequins will be deter-

JAPAN OPEN

The ATP Japan open takes place
this week from 5th-11th October. With Rafa Nadal suffering
abdominal problems, Andy Murray plagued by a wrist strain and
Roger Federer close to burnout,
all three have dropped out of the
tournament leaving a massive opportunity for the remaining competitors to steal victory.
Del Potro must be favourite looking
at his recent form. He's an awkward
opponent to play against and appears
the most consistent performer left in
the tournament. Tommy Haas, Gilles
Simon and Lleyton Hewitt also pose
a threat however my money’s on Del
Potro to seal a comfortable victory.

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

BO'D: Superman
mined to brush off their summer of
scandal (the less said about that, the
better) and, as a proud bunch of players, will want to make an impact and
right the wrongs of last season.

"It's mine": The Welsh regional captains are all hoping for Heineken Cup glory
The Ospreys have also failed to
make an impact so far in the Magners
League – suffering from their change
of game under Scott Johnson- and
they face a tough opener against last
season’s finalists Leicester. Contrastingly, and somewhat surprisingly, the
Newport-Gwent Dragons have got
off to a much brighter start this season, playing a good brand of rugby. If
they can get a win under their belt this
weekend against Gloucester they will
definitely be fancying their chances
this year.
The Scarlets, after their weak form
last season and a run of disappointing
defeats, will be determined to make an
impact this year. They will certainly
be hoping to regain their status as the
standard bearers for Wales in European rugby and, with their first game
at home to Brive, the Scarlets have the
opportunity to get their Heineken Cup
campaign off to a positive start.
French clubs are consistently strong
contenders and this season looks to be
no different. A number of French sides
have made fantastic signings over the
summer with many English players
now sampling the joie de vivre of life
across the channel. James Haskell is
settling in nicely at Stade Francais
who, despite a rocky start to the Top
14 after getting rid of their coaches,
are still looking like a very hard team
to beat.

Clubs like Toulouse and ClermontAuvergne always look dangerous at
home and, when the Gallic flair flows,
French teams never fail in offering up
thrilling matches.
French sides are, however, renowned for not travelling well so
Glasgow and the Scarlets will want
to capitalise on their home advantage
this weekend.

French teams
never fail in
offering up
thrilling matches
Back in England, the Guinness Premiership is looking hard to gauge at
the moment with teams such as Bath
and Gloucester showing little consistency in form.
2009 finalists, Leicester, remain
a threat and have a strong chance of
doing well again this season. Unexpectedly, London Irish are looking to
do well this season. Despite finding
themselves in a difficult pool (Leinster, Brive and the Scarlets) there is a
positive air about the club and, if they
can get off to a good start, they may
well prove to be the surprise of the
tournament.
Scotland are certainly making an
impact on the Magners League this

year and Edinburgh (the only Scottish side to have reached the quarter
finals of the Heineken Cup) are looking particularly strong. With a squad
boasting players such as Mike Blair
and the ever-reliable Chris Paterson,
Edinburgh will be a very competitive
side this season.
Ireland will want to build on their
fantastic success last season with
Leinster aiming for the top once
again. The history books may suggest
that winning back to back is a rare
occurrence (Leicester being the only
team to achieve it so far) but, with
Brian O’Driscoll - amongst others returning from an absolutely fantastic summer with the Lions, Leinster
are certainly looking to prove this
theory wrong. Munster are also looking strong with a number of Lions
amongst their ranks and an exciting
new signing in the form of Springbok
centre Jean de Villiers.
Unfortunately, the Italian teams remain the weakest force in the tournament and are unlikely to make an impact this season.
So, as this weekend’s matches kickoff it certainly seems we can look forward to a thrilling season of European
cup rugby and, if you fancy some
Heineken Cup action this weekend,
why not head down to Cardiff City
Stadium and see the Blues take on
Harlequins!

Heineken Cup: Editors' predictions as battle commences
Robbie Wells:
Watching the
Scarlets' start to the
season, with a massive victory over
Leinster, how can anyone look past
the Llanelli team? Perennially attractive, but never clinical, it must finally
be the year for the Scarlets to come
of age. An indifferent start will be
forgotten when Stephen Jones returns
and wins become second nature.

Adam Horne: Like Lucy,
I'm going for a French win.
This is based on that fact
that she knows more about
rugby than any of us. So I
can't go wrong. Stade Francais have
made a solid start to their season,
scoring plenty of points. However
they have also been poor defensively.
If they can sort that out, I believe
they have a great chance.

Joe Davies: I think
that the Scarlets will
win in Paris. Earlier
in the season they
beat Cup-holders Leinster and coach
Nigel Davies insists that they begin
their campaign in a “positive frame of
mind, knowing what we’re capable
of” and that his young players have
learned a great deal from the previous
two seasons, in which they have not
progressed past the group stage.

Lucy Morgan: My head
says a French victory is
likely this season - with
the final taking place
on French soil. Clermont
Auvergne with their huge budget
and fantastic resources are looking
particularly strong contenders. My
heart is hoping for Scarlets success
but it will certainly be a tough ask for
the Llanelli boys this season.

FEATURE - SPORT 31

gairrhydd | SPORT@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

Cardiff University's James Davies chats to former England captain and
LA Galaxy star David Beckham as he limbers up for the World Cup
“Can you come out to our training session at 11am on Thursday,
at The Home Depot Center? David
should be available to the media
after training.” As I sat in my sun
lounger punching the air in delight, having secured a meeting
with the game’s most famous son,
I unsurprisingly sent my response
at a speed Usain Bolt would have
been proud of.
Although our meeting wouldn’t
be the one-to-one sit down interview
I had really wanted, it was a starting
point and an opportunity to meet and
question, in my opinion, England’s
finest number seven and, more importantly, my footballing hero, along
with a handful of other journalists
from around the world, ahead of the
Galaxy’s game against the European
champions, FC Barcelona.
For some, David Beckham has been,
for most of his career, one of the best
footballers on the planet and let’s face
it, someone who has worked his socks
off to achieve all he has throughout
his illustrious career. For others, he
is a global sex symbol, fashion icon,
multi-millionaire and one half of the
world’s most famous and readily talked about celebrity couples.
For me, however, David is quite
simply, as anyone who knows me will
tell you, the footballer I wanted to be
as a child. From the modest parks of
Leytonstone to the glamorous showbiz setting of Los Angeles, David
Beckham has made it through his
sheer hard work and determination.
Hopping into the Jeep we had been
driving throughout the course of our
trip, I placed my sunglasses on the top
of my head to complete the L.A. look,
and made my way down the highway
in search of the American dream.
Once I had arrived in Carson - the
home of the L.A Galaxy and England’s David Beckham - I was ushered
passed some of the strictest security I
have ever come across, to one of the

The anticipation was enormous as I
explored the fascinating surroundings
while I waited.
As the players began to emerge,
a smile grew on my face. Like a
school team on games day, the players
walked out with bags slung over their
shoulders and shirts un-tucked and
with the background noise of chatter
and joking.
What struck me the most was their
dedication and skill. Although the
standard in Major League Soccer has
been criticised, the players made the
people’s sport look so easy, yet stylish, composed and clinical.
Players flung themselves around
all morning, chasing the ball during
games that featured three-a-side and
one-touch passing. The sheer competitiveness was overwhelming.

He didn't, as many
might have expected, traipse in with
an entourage or
designer gear
None of the squad were content
with passing the ball round the opposition. They all felt the need to try new
and inventive tricks to embarrass their
colleagues, creating a monumental
amount of banter amongst the side.
But the professional side of what
they were doing shone through. It
wasn’t a simple game or a half-hearted
training session they were taking part
in, but a gruelling practise monitored
by Bruce Arena.
Before the team even kicked a ball,
they were led around the pitch several
times to warm up. They then stretched
off at every corner and, once they
were well prepared, gathered together

James and Dave
club's exclusive parking spaces.
Having arrived about two hours
before the team were due to train, I
was able to soak up the atmosphere
and walk around the place that has, in
recent years, been at the forefront of
a tsunami of press attention, since David’s arrival two summers ago.

for a team talk.
Having watched the entire training
session, I was taken deep into the stadium, away from prying eyes, where
I would get my opportunity to speak
to David.
Holding tightly to his three boys,
David slowly came into sight. Ush-

What you can't see is that the last word is 'friend'!
ering his children through to one of
the many rooms, he disappeared for a
minute or two, only to reappear with
a broad smile emblazoned across his
instantly recognisable face.
As David headed towards the media
scrum that had converged at the end of
the long passageway, I must admit I
was rather taken aback with the rather
casual and laid-back way he sauntered
down the dimly lit corridor.
He didn’t, as many might have
cynically expected, traipse in with an
entourage, or turn up decked-out in
designer gear.
Instead, in stark contrast, he was accompanied solely by his three children
where he was, from what I could see,
performing his fatherly duties.
After shaking hands and quickly
exchanging pleasantries with him I,
along with the handful of other media
present, began questioning the superstar.
I just stood there, transfixed, staring
at him, studying his every move and
listening to every word he spoke.
Say what you will about Beckham and a lot has been made over the years
by members of the media - although
not by me - that he isn’t the brightest
or most articulate guy in the world he spoke intelligently, thoughtfully,
openly and frankly. Never once did he
waver or decline to answer a question,
or try to skirt an issue.
When answering a question about
the recent reaction by L.A Galaxy
fans over his decision to play in Europe, which has caused a minor ruckus, David just charmingly said: “I’m
just trying to ignore it as much as I
can. I think that’s the way you have to
deal with these things. I’ve had it a lot
worse than I’ve had here.
After ’98 it was at its worst - but
I’ve had it bad in a number of different places I’ve played - it’s just part
of the game.
When it happens, it can sometimes
become a distraction not just for myself but for the team,” he mused.
“The team have done well to deal
with the situation. I’ve got the support
of the players, the management and
the owners and for me that’s the most

important thing. I’m happy to be back
and I’m happy to be playing with these
players and with this team. I’m enjoying it,” he added philosophically.
With all media outlets firing at
all cylinders in a media scrum that
seemed to suffocate David for space,
I waited for my chance to fire a couple
of questions of my own.
Amongst the crowd of American
twangs came my English accent.
Immediately David looked up and
smiled at me - I think he had found
it rather comforting to hear the tones
of a ‘Brit’.

Beneath all that
star-like veneer
was an ordinary
person, which was
refreshing to find
With his attention fixed firmly on
me, I began to explain to the superstar that I was in the States on a road
trip, to which the affable midfielder
smiled.
“What would you advise me do
while I’m here in L.A?” I asked.
Without a hint of hesitation, David
enthusiastically retorted, “Go to the
beaches.”
Adding: “There are quite a few nice
beaches out there. L.A life is great.
The weather’s great and people are always good to you. You’ll have a good
time while you’re here.”
I was impressed with the genuine
niceness of the man who is, at times,
all too easily and unfairly criticised.
Having played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and A.C Milan - three
of the biggest clubs in the world- as
well as captaining his country, where
does this insatiable drive that seems to
be instilled in our finest football icon
come from?
“My drive has come from my parents, my family and the clubs that I’ve

played for and the managers I played
under. When you play under some of
the managers I’ve played under, if you
don’t have that drive then you don’t
get in the team, so I have been brought
up on it from an early age.
My drive to succeed will always
be insatiable. It was the way I was
brought up and it’s the way I’ve always played. Every club that I’ve been
at has driven me to success. Once it’s
in you, I don’t think it will change.”
Having reached the pinnacle of
sporting success himself, what advice
would he give the next generation of
footballers who wished to become
the next David Beckham and, if possible, achieve all he has accomplished
throughout his illustrious career?
“I’ve been lucky with my career
but I’ve worked hard to achieve what
I have. Kids out there, if they want to
become a professional footballer then
you have to work hard and enjoy it.
I’ve enjoyed my whole career and I’ll
be very honoured to enjoy it until it
finishes.”
Asked about his plans after retirement, he said he wanted to make up
for lost time with his family. You
could tell from the way he lovingly
talked about his wife and kids that he
is a devoted family man and that he
hates to be away from them for any
length of time.
It was refreshing to meet an athlete who keeps things in perspective.
David Beckham is the most famous
sports star in the world but, instead of
puffing his chest out, he remembers
what’s most important in this world:
his family.
But for all the fuss and humdrum
that goes with being the most famous
footballer in the world, David is a
down to earth man who is unquestionably more approachable than others
who have less talent than he does in
his little toe- the one on the left foot!
Although he is proud of his admirable success and he is proud of his wife
and children he is, beneath all that
star-like veneer, an ordinary person,
which was refreshing to find.
A first-rate footballer? Yes. A firstrate person? Without question.

Sport
gairrhydd

INSIDE: Interview with David Beckham, The Word on...
England's cricket form, and an all new Sports section

Third time lucky for Cardiff
Cardiff Men's Rugby give Welsh Regional Under-20's the blues to
kick off their new season in style
Gethin Thomas
Sports Writer
Cardiff 15 - 8 Region Under 20's
Thirty Cardiff University students
travelled to Pentrych Rugby Club
this past Monday evening to play
against some of the brightest talent in the Cardiff Blues region at
Under 20’s level.
Having been together for a number
of months the Blues were undoubtedly firm favourites, coached by former
Cardiff University Head of Rugby
Adrian Evans and containing many
Blues academy players and Welsh
premiership players including Pontypridd and Glamorgan Wanderers stars
Dean Gunter, Dan Fish and Ryan Healey. Conversely the Cardiff University
squad had only met the day before
the game after the Fresher's trials and
were looking at playing a mixture of
Freshers and second year students.
Captained by Law student Mark
Schropfer the University squad were
told by their coach that after only one
training session he did not expect
high levels of organisation and that
he would not look to isolate any mistakes made. However, it was stressed
that he fully expected high levels of
endeavour, commitment and attitude
from the young squad.

The game started with the University pack gaining dominance in the
set piece with good work from props
Geoff Lewin (Engineering), Jake
Cooper (Business) and Hooker Ross
Grimstone (Business), the Regional
Coaches showed their intent when the
University Vice Captain Nic Huntley
(Medicine) infringed at the breakdown
by shouting instructions to “take the 3
points” to their outside half.
The University's view was completely the opposite, spurning numerous penalty opportunities giving their
squad the opportunity to play and
the coaching team the opportunity to
identify the talent on the pitch.
Much to the satisfaction of the
coaching team, endeavour, commitment and attitude were indeed delivered in spades by the university students. Tries from Jake Cooper and Joe
Casella and Cameron Pimlow adding
the extra points with his trusty boot,
helped ensure a 15 – 8 victory against
the regional team, their first in three
years.
The Freshers involved produced
some fine performances for the University, showing great promise for the
upcoming year.
Speaking after the game captain
and scrum half Mark Schropfer commented, “after this game it proves
that we will have a greater strength

Men's rugby: looking to emulate last year's success
in depth to the squad this year, which
bodes well for the future. We have targeted success in the BUCS league, the

WRU SWALEC plate, the Hong Kong
10’s finals, the Cardiff and District
Mallet Cup and of Course the Welsh

Varsity match. I am very positive that
we could achieve all of the above if
we reach our potential this season”.

Shooting stars
Luke Stevens
Sports Writer

Despite the summer break, members of the Cardiff University Rifle
Club have continued to represent
the University at a high level,
building on the achievements of
the last year.
Three members of the club attended the Welsh outdoor 50-metre competition. Rob Beer and club secretary, Rhys Bowley competed in class
C where they placed 3rd and 8th of
11 respectively. With his score, Rob
Beer qualified for the WSRA (Welsh
Small bore Rifle Association) final.
Club captain Luke Stevens competed

in Class A where he placed 11th of 20
also qualifying for the final. However
he was unfortunately unable to make
the final.
Throughout last year several members competed in a national competition against thousands of other competitors.
The competition, known as the
Eley postal, was shot in three stages;
two 25-yard indoor qualifying stages
and a 50-metre outdoor final at the
National Shooting Centre, Bisley. At
the first stage the top 50% qualified
and then at the second, the top twenty
scores qualified.
The club had four members reach
the second round. These were Nick
Randle (Class E), Ben Harridge (Class
D), Nadia Cracknell (Class C), and

Luke Stevens (Class B).
Two of these members then succeeded in qualifying for the final. Ben
Harridge qualified with a score of 378
ex 400 and Luke Stevens with a score
of 393 ex 400. Unfortunately Ben
was unable to attend the final. At the
final Luke obtained bronze position in
Class B.
Also over the summer, James Lothian attended the BUCS full bore competition. This was shot at varying distances up to a kilometre. James, who
recently became the captain of the GB
U25 full bore team for their next tour,
took home the gold medal.
The club is now looking forward to
the coming year and hoping to build
on its successes.

Rifle Club: Aiming high

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NEWS 03

gairrhydd | NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM
MONDAY OCTOBER 05 2009

University of
Glamorgan
Fresher raped
in halls of
Regulations changed after donator is exposed as residence
convicted fraudster with alleged links to terrorism Emma
McFarnon
News Editor

Cardiff University has been forced
to change its regulations regarding large donations after one donor was exposed as a convicted
fraudster who has been accused
of having “close associations with
terrorists groups.”
In April 2008, the University accepted £2.5million from businessman
Gerard Walsh in order to fund a prestigious chair in public health in memory
of epidemiologist Archie Cochrane.
Despite the size of the donation,
no background checks were made on
the Irishman, who had been convicted
of fraud in 1997. A judge at the case
asserted that Mr Walsh had “fraudulently misrepresented himself” as the
owner of a car dealership which sold
expensive Lamborghinis.
The complainant, Amanda Forshall,
paid Mr Walsh deposits of 873,000
euros for nine Lamborghini Diablos
which she never received. In court,
Forshall said that Walsh had threatened her, claiming to have “close
associations with terrorist groups, in

particular the so-called IRA” and that
he would use those contacts to dispose
of her and her children.
Only three months after the pledge
was made, Mr Walsh received an honorary fellowship from the University
for his “work in public healthcare policy”. This was the same month that he
failed to produce the first payment as
promised in the Agreement.
Within months of the fellowship
being offered, Cork City FC, which
was then owned by Mr. Walsh’s investment company, collapsed due to
financial troubles. Although signs of
financial insecurity were evident, the
university did at any point question
Mr Walsh’s credibility as a donator.
According to a newly released
report by an internal investigatory
panel, the relationship between the
investor and the University developed
“fairly rapidly” after Mr Walsh’s key
point of contact, Professor Mansel
Aylward, became the Director of the
Unum Centre for Psychosocial and
Disability Research.
Those dealing with Mr Walsh
should, according to the report, had
reason to reconsider their relationship
on three separate occasions but failed

to do so.
In October 2007, a 50th birthday
party was held for the businessman by
the University. He was billed for the
event but failed to pay up, forcing the
university to refer the debt to a collection agency.
Further concerns should have been
raised, the panel notes, when Mr
Walsh changed the payment from a
single lump sum to paying on a per
annum basis.
In addition, the Irishman made
several last minute changes to the parties involved in the Agreement, which
should have heightened suspicions.
Only when a national newspaper
exposed Mr Walsh’s wrongdoings in
October 2008 did the University terminate the Agreement yet the fellowship, with the panel has since concluded raised a number of “ethical issues”,
was not withdrawn until May 2009.
The findings of the investigation
affirmed that the university’s financial
regulations had been breached.
“In the panel’s view, a favourable
impression of Mr Walsh had developed in the minds of key individuals
at the university, and this led them to
conclude that it was unnecessary and

inappropriate to carry out full duediligence checks,” it says.
“The failure to receive the initial
payment on the date of the signing
of the Agreement was a clear indication that something was wrong and
that assurances given at the time that
this was a temporary situation should
have been challenged rather than accepted.”
The panel also deemed the decision
not to involve the university’s Finance
Division (apart from to receive advice
on the Cochrane Chair funding) as a
“regrettable” one.
In light of the panel’s discoveries,
several key changes have been made
to the University’s financial regulations.
Any individual wishing to make a
single donation of £25,000 or above
should be subjected to credit and
money-laundering checks by external
agencies.
As of the 2009 fellowship round,
nominations have been independently
researched and verified prior to being
accepted. A two-year period must also
exist between receiving the donation
and nominating the donor for a fellowship.

A Lash-tastic success!
Eleanor Smith
Reporter
The newly branded Wednesday
night at the Union has proven to
be a massive success.
The recently renamed ‘The Lash’
saw 2700 students through the doors
last Wednesday for its Beach Party
hosted by Radio 1’s Greg James.
The Union’s Entertainments Manager, Ben Eagle, said: “Greg was enjoying himself so much that he played
on for almost double his contracted
set length.
“Feedback from students is great.
Next week has sold almost half already and will probably sell out even
earlier than tonight’s event.”
Sales for The Lash are moving
even quicker than Rubber Duck, the
legendary Wednesday night from days
gone by, when it was in its prime.
Word amongst the students was
that Oceana nightclub in the city centre, probably the Union’s biggest rival
on a Wednesday night, had no queue,
whilst the queue for the Union was
half way down the steps.
Lashin' it large at Solus

Police are investigating the rape
of an 18-year-old student from the
University of Glamorgan.
The student, thought to be a fresher
who only began studying last week,
was sexually assaulted at the Glamorgan Court Halls of Residence in Treforest during the early hours of Saturday September 26.
Officers were called to the halls at
around 0450 after receiving a report
that a non-residential student at the
university had been assaulted.
Police say the woman was attacked
sometime after 0230 in a friend’s
room at the halls.
Forensic specialists carried out a
fingertip search of rooms in the halls,
but the rapist wore gloves to hide his
fingerprints.
Police are questioning students living in the area, and have set up an incident room at Mountain Ash Police
Station, where a team of detectives are
working on the case.
The suspect is described as about
6ft tall and of "solid" appearance. He
was wearing gloves and a dark hooded top.
Supt. Tony Smith, from South
Wales Police, said: “The victim is at
home with her family, she has been
appointed a specially-trained South
Wales Police liaison officer and we
are keeping them updated on the inquiry as it progresses.
"Since this incident was reported
to us there has been a 24-hour police
presence at the university’s campus,
which will continue, as well as the
campus’ own security staff.
He added: “I’m sure it will be of
concern to new students who are arriving to start their university career,
and their parents, but this is an extremely rare incident for not only the
university but the Pontypridd area."
University Vice Chancellor, Professor David Halton, said: "We are offering full support to the victim and,
though the campus has an excellent
reputation as a safe, friendly campus, in light of this incident we are
reminding all students to follow basic
safety advice such as keeping all windows and doors locked at night, stay
in groups when walking around the
campus late at night, and to report any
suspicious activity to security staff or
the police."
The university has set up a dedicated help-line for parents and students requiring advice or information:
01443 482896.
Anyone with information should
call the incident room on 01443 743
678 or Crimestoppers anonymously
on 0800 555111.